Shaune
An English masculine name derived from the Persian "Shawn" meaning "fortunate, pleasant".
Name Census estimates that about 705 living Americans carry the first name Shaune. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 57.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Shaune today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shaune births was 1969 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shaune. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
705
~ 1 in 486,176 Americans
Peak year
1969
60 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2009 SSA rank
#8,884
Tracked since 1950
Census
Shaune in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 753 people with the first name Shaune, which placed it at #15,320 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,320
National first-name rank
People counted
753
753 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shaune
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaune is White at 53.1%. The next largest groups are Black (36.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shaune described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Shaune at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.1% · 400
- Black or African American36.0% · 271
- Two or more races4.6% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Shaune
Shaune is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 779 total registrations, 444 (57.0%) were male and 335 (43.0%) were female.
Shaune as a male name
- Ranked #8,884 in 2009
- 9 male births in 2009
- Peak: 1978 (27 births)
Shaune as a female name
- Ranked #15,494 in 1996
- 5 female births in 1996
- Peak: 1969 (44 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shaune on both sides of the split. Of the 749 people counted with this name, 372 were male (49.7%) and 377 were female (50.3%).
Popularity
Shaune: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shaune from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 263 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shaune by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Shaune during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaunes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shaune
The name Shaune has its roots in the Gaelic language, which originated in Ireland and Scotland. It is a variant spelling of the more common name "Shawn," which can be traced back to the Irish name "Seán." This name is derived from the Old Irish word "Sémhon," which in turn comes from the Latin name "Simonos" or "Simeon."
The name Shaune gained popularity in the medieval period, particularly in Ireland and Scotland. It was often used as an anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Seán," which was common among Irish and Scottish families. The name Shaune is believed to have been first recorded in written records during the 12th century.
In the 14th century, a Scottish nobleman named Shaune Douglas was mentioned in the historical records of the time. He was a prominent figure in the Scottish Wars of Independence against England. Another notable figure with this name was Shaune O'Neill, an Irish chieftain and leader of the O'Neill clan in the 16th century.
During the Renaissance period, the name Shaune appeared in literary works, such as the plays of William Shakespeare. In "Henry V," one of the characters is referred to as "Shaune the Irishman." This usage of the name reflects its association with Irish and Celtic culture.
In the 18th century, Shaune Dunleavy was an Irish poet and songwriter who gained recognition for his works in the Gaelic language. His poems and songs celebrated Irish culture and traditions.
Another notable figure was Shaune O'Connor, an Irish revolutionary and activist in the 19th century. He played a significant role in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, fighting against British rule in Ireland.
As the name Shaune has its origins in the Gaelic language and culture, it has been associated with a strong sense of Celtic heritage and tradition throughout history.
People
Shaune + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shaune as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shaune: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shaune?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 705 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shaune going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 486,176 US residents.
Is Shaune a common name?
We classify Shaune as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 779 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shaune most popular?
The single biggest year for Shaune was 1969, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shaune is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shaune in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 753 people with the name Shaune, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,320 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Shaune in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Shaune?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shaune on both sides of the split. Of the 749 people counted with this name, 372 were male (49.7%) and 377 were female (50.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Shaune?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shaune is White at 53.1%. The next largest groups are Black (36.0%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Shaune most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shaune in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.1% (400 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Shaune in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shaune a male name?
Yes, 57.0% of people registered as Shaune in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Shaune still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shaune in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Shaune can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Shaune?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.