Shawndee
Anglicized variant of the French name Chantal meaning "stony place".
Name Census estimates that about 33 living Americans carry the first name Shawndee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shawndee today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shawndee births was 1972 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shawndee. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shawndee. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
33
~ 1 in 10,386,495 Americans
Peak year
1972
14 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
1991 SSA rank
#12,884
Tracked since 1972
Popularity
Shawndee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shawndee from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 31 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
Shawndee 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 Shawndee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shawndees live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shawndee
The name Shawndee has its origins in the Native American languages spoken by various tribes across North America. It is believed to be a variation of the name Shawnee, which refers to the Shawnee tribe that originally inhabited parts of the Ohio Valley and the Cumberland Plateau regions.
The Shawnee name is thought to derive from the Algonquian word "shawun" or "shawanese," meaning "southerners" or "people of the south." This reflects the tribe's migration southward from their original homelands in the Great Lakes region. The addition of "dee" to form "Shawndee" is likely a later adaptation or variation of the name.
While there are no known historical references to the specific name Shawndee in ancient texts or scriptures, the Shawnee tribe itself has a rich history and cultural significance. They were known for their skilled craftsmanship, particularly in making pottery and baskets, as well as their prowess in hunting and warfare.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Shawndee can be found in the 18th century, when a Shawnee leader named Shawndee Blue Jacket (c. 1743-1808) played a significant role in the Northwest Indian War against the United States. He was a renowned warrior and leader who fought alongside other notable figures like Tecumseh and Little Turtle.
Another historical figure bearing the name Shawndee was Shawndee Black Hoof (c. 1720-1831), a Shawnee chief and diplomat who was instrumental in negotiating treaties with the United States government. He was respected for his efforts to maintain peace between the Shawnee and the settlers.
In the 19th century, Shawndee Caleb Lamb (c. 1810-1880) was a Shawnee chief and Baptist minister who played a significant role in the relocation of the Shawnee tribe from Ohio to Kansas, and later to Oklahoma. He was known for his efforts to preserve the Shawnee language and culture.
Shawndee John Horse (c. 1812-1882) was a leader of the Seminole tribe who fought against the United States during the Second Seminole War. He was of mixed Seminole and Shawnee descent and was renowned for his bravery and military tactics.
In more recent times, Shawndee Dee Sanchez (1936-2020) was a notable artist and activist from the Shawnee and Choctaw tribes. She was recognized for her contributions to Native American art and for advocating for the rights and recognition of indigenous peoples.
People
Shawndee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shawndee 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
Shawndee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shawndee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 33 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shawndee 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 10,386,495 US residents.
Is Shawndee a common name?
We classify Shawndee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 37 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shawndee most popular?
The single biggest year for Shawndee was 1972, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shawndee is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Shawndee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shawndee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shawndee 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 Shawndee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shawndee 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 Shawndee 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Shawndee?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Shawndee at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.