Shavona
Feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning, possibly from Sanskrit.
Name Census estimates that about 257 living Americans carry the first name Shavona. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shavona today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shavona births was 1979 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shavona. 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
257
~ 1 in 1,333,674 Americans
Peak year
1979
19 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1998 SSA rank
#9,168
Tracked since 1971
Census
Shavona in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 248 people with the first name Shavona, which placed it at #33,395 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
#33,395
National first-name rank
People counted
248
248 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shavona
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shavona is Black at 81.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Shavona 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 Shavona at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.5% · 202
- White9.3% · 23
- Two or more races4.8% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 5
Popularity
Shavona: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shavona from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 119 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shavona 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 Shavona during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shavonas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Shavona, while New York, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shavona
The name Shavona is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was the root of many modern Indian languages. The name is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "shavana," meaning "pleasant" or "beautiful." This suggests that the name may have been used to describe a person of great beauty or charm.
In ancient Indian texts and scriptures, there are references to the name Shavona being used as a personal name, although the exact time period is difficult to pinpoint. Some scholars believe that the name may have been used as early as the 5th century BCE, during the classical period of Indian history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shavona can be found in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, there is a character named Shavona who is described as a beautiful and virtuous woman. The Mahabharata is believed to have been composed between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE, providing evidence of the name's ancient roots.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Shavona. One such person was Shavona Devi, a renowned Indian classical dancer who lived in the 20th century (1925-2008). She was widely acclaimed for her mastery of the Odissi dance form and was honored with numerous awards for her contributions to the arts.
Another notable Shavona was Shavona Khanna, an Indian actress and model who gained popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s. She appeared in several Bollywood films and television shows, showcasing her talent and beauty on the silver screen.
In the field of literature, Shavona Singha was a prominent Indian author and poet who lived in the 19th century (1835-1904). She wrote extensively in the Bengali language and is remembered for her powerful and evocative works that explored themes of love, identity, and societal issues.
Moving to the realm of sports, Shavona Williams was a successful American basketball player who played in the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) during the early 2000s. She was known for her tenacity and skill on the court, representing teams like the Sacramento Monarchs and the Detroit Shock.
Lastly, Shavona Armon was a British artist and sculptor who gained recognition in the late 20th century for her innovative and thought-provoking works. Her sculptures, often made from unconventional materials, challenged traditional notions of art and explored themes of identity and social commentary.
People
Shavona + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shavona 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
Shavona: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shavona?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 257 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shavona 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 1,333,674 US residents.
Is Shavona a common name?
We classify Shavona 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, 271 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shavona most popular?
The single biggest year for Shavona was 1979, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shavona is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shavona in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 248 people with the name Shavona, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,395 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 Shavona 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 Shavona?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shavona appears almost entirely female. Of the 253 people counted with this name, 99.2% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Shavona?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shavona is Black at 81.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Shavona most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shavona in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.5% (202 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 Shavona in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shavona a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shavona 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 Shavona still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shavona 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 Shavona 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 have Shavona as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.