Shawana
A feminine Native American name of uncertain meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 1,726 living Americans carry the first name Shawana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shawana today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shawana births was 1977 (125 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shawana. 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 Shawana with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 198,583 Americans
Peak year
1977
125 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2000 SSA rank
#9,064
Tracked since 1956
Census
Shawana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,584 people with the first name Shawana, which placed it at #8,972 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
#8,972
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,584 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shawana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shawana is Black at 79.3%. The next largest groups are White (12.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Shawana 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 Shawana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.3% · 1,256
- White12.4% · 197
- Two or more races2.9% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 39
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 23
Popularity
Shawana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shawana 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 876 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
Shawana 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 Shawana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shawanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. New York, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Shawana, while South Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 51 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shawana
The name Shawana has its origins in the Native American cultures of North America. It is derived from the word "shawanwa" which means "southerner" or "southland" in the Shawnee language, referring to the location of the Shawnee tribe's traditional homeland in the Ohio River valley and parts of the Southeast.
The earliest recorded use of the name Shawana dates back to the 17th century, when European settlers encountered members of the Shawnee tribe. It was commonly used as a feminine name among the Shawnee people, often given to girls born in the southern regions of their territory.
Although the name Shawana does not appear to be mentioned in any ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been documented in historical records related to the interactions between European colonists and Native American tribes. Some of these records include accounts of trade negotiations, treaties, and conflicts involving the Shawnee people.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Shawana was Shawana Blackfish, also known as Shawanwa, a Shawnee chief who lived in the late 18th century. He was a prominent leader during the Northwest Indian War and played a significant role in the resistance against American expansion into Native American lands.
Another historical figure with the name Shawana was Shawana Nanetosha, a Shawnee woman who lived in the early 19th century. She was known for her storytelling abilities and her efforts to preserve the oral traditions and cultural heritage of her tribe.
In the late 19th century, Shawana Minkinnik was a respected Shawnee potter and artist who helped revive and promote traditional Shawnee pottery techniques. Her works were exhibited and gained recognition for their intricate designs and craftsmanship.
Shawana Tecumseh, born in the early 20th century, was a Shawnee activist and educator who dedicated her life to advocating for Native American rights and promoting cultural awareness. She worked tirelessly to preserve the Shawnee language and traditions.
Lastly, Shawana Yellowhair was a Shawnee artist and educator who lived in the mid-20th century. She was known for her vibrant paintings depicting scenes from Shawnee life and her commitment to teaching Native American art and culture to younger generations.
People
Shawana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shawana 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
Shawana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shawana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,726 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shawana 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 198,583 US residents.
Is Shawana a common name?
We classify Shawana as "Rare". It ranks above 93.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,881 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shawana most popular?
The single biggest year for Shawana was 1977, when 125 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shawana is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shawana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,584 people with the name Shawana, or 0.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,972 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 Shawana 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 Shawana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shawana appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,577 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Shawana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shawana is Black at 79.3%. The next largest groups are White (12.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Shawana most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shawana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.3% (1,256 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 Shawana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shawana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shawana 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 Shawana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shawana 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 Shawana 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 Shawana?
Find out how many people have the name Shawana on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.