Shauni
A feminine name of Celtic origin meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 256 living Americans carry the first name Shauni. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shauni today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shauni births was 1990 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shauni. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Shauni with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
256
~ 1 in 1,338,884 Americans
Peak year
1990
54 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2011 SSA rank
#19,144
Tracked since 1979
Census
Shauni in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 312 people with the first name Shauni, which placed it at #28,685 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
#28,685
National first-name rank
People counted
312
312 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shauni
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shauni is White at 68.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Hispanic (8.7%). 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 Shauni 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 Shauni at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.3% · 213
- Black or African American13.5% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 27
- Two or more races7.1% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 3
Popularity
Shauni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shauni from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 214 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shauni 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 Shauni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shaunis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shauni
The name Shauni is a unique and fascinating one with a rich history and cultural significance. Its origins can be traced back to the Sanskrit language, where it is derived from the word "Shuddha," meaning pure or virtuous. This name gained popularity in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in regions influenced by Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Shauni can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures, where it was often used as a name for deities or divine beings associated with purity and spiritual enlightenment. In the Mahabharata, one of the most significant Hindu epics, there is a character named Shauni, who was a respected sage and advisor to the Pandava princes.
During the medieval period, the name Shauni gained prominence in various parts of South Asia, particularly in regions under the influence of Buddhist culture. One notable figure bearing this name was Shauni Dhammapala, a renowned Buddhist scholar and philosopher who lived in the 10th century CE. He authored several influential treatises on Buddhist philosophy and is credited with popularizing the study of logic and epistemology in the region.
As the name Shauni spread across different cultures and regions, it underwent various transformations and adaptations. In parts of Southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand and Cambodia, it evolved into the name "Sauni" or "Sani," which retained its association with purity and spiritual enlightenment.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Shauni was Shauni Shakti, a revered Hindu mystic and spiritual leader who lived in the 16th century CE. He is known for his teachings on devotion, self-realization, and the pursuit of inner peace, and his writings continue to inspire followers to this day.
Another notable figure bearing the name Shauni was Shauni Devi, a celebrated Indian classical dancer and choreographer who lived in the 20th century. She was instrumental in reviving and popularizing the ancient dance form of Bharatanatyam, and her contributions to the field of Indian dance were widely recognized and celebrated.
While the name Shauni has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu traditions, it has also been adopted and adapted by various other cultures and communities around the world. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its beautiful meaning and the spiritual and cultural significance it carries.
People
Shauni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shauni 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
Shauni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shauni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 256 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shauni 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 1,338,884 US residents.
Is Shauni a common name?
We classify Shauni as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 265 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shauni most popular?
The single biggest year for Shauni was 1990, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shauni is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shauni in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 312 people with the name Shauni, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,685 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 Shauni 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 Shauni?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shauni leans strongly female. 310 people counted with this name were female (97.8%), compared with 7 male bearers (2.2%). 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 Shauni?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shauni is White at 68.3%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Hispanic (8.7%). 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 Shauni most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shauni in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.3% (213 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 Shauni in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shauni a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shauni in the SSA data are female. 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 Shauni still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shauni 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 Shauni 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 common is the name Shauni?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.