Shayaan
A masculine Indian name meaning "one who excels" or "intellectual".
Name Census estimates that about 754 living Americans carry the first name Shayaan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shayaan today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shayaan births was 2011 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shayaan. 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 Shayaan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
754
~ 1 in 454,581 Americans
Peak year
2011
60 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,838
Tracked since 1995
Census
Shayaan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 628 people with the first name Shayaan, which placed it at #17,522 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
#17,522
National first-name rank
People counted
628
628 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
90.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shayaan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shayaan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Shayaan 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 Shayaan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander90.1% · 566
- White4.6% · 29
- Two or more races2.4% · 15
- Black or African American1.4% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Popularity
Shayaan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shayaan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 423 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shayaan 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 Shayaan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shayaans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. New York, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Shayaan, while Florida, Virginia, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shayaan
The name Shayaan has its origins in the Persian language and culture. It is derived from the Old Persian word "shayan," which means "worthy" or "deserving." The name can be traced back to ancient Persia, which is now modern-day Iran.
In the Middle Ages, the name appeared in Persian literature and historical records. It was often associated with noble and influential figures in Persian society. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the 10th century, when a Persian poet named Shayaan Ghaznavid wrote several works that are still studied today.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Shayaan. In the 12th century, Shayaan al-Din Muhammad Khwarizmi was a renowned Persian mathematician and astronomer. He is credited with introducing the concept of algebra to the Western world.
During the Safavid Dynasty in the 16th and 17th centuries, Shayaan Beyk was a prominent military commander who played a crucial role in the expansion of the Persian Empire. He was known for his strategic prowess and bravery on the battlefield.
In the 19th century, Shayaan Khan was a influential Persian statesman and diplomat. He served as the ambassador to several European countries and played a significant role in strengthening diplomatic ties between Persia and the West.
Another notable figure with the name Shayaan was Shayaan Farrukh, a celebrated Persian artist and calligrapher who lived in the early 20th century. His intricate calligraphic works are considered masterpieces and are displayed in prestigious museums around the world.
The name Shayaan has a rich history and has been bestowed upon influential individuals across various fields, including literature, science, military, politics, and art. Its meaning of "worthy" or "deserving" reflects the significant contributions and accomplishments of those who have carried this name throughout the ages.
People
Shayaan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shayaan 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
Shayaan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shayaan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 754 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shayaan 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 454,581 US residents.
Is Shayaan a common name?
We classify Shayaan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 761 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shayaan most popular?
The single biggest year for Shayaan was 2011, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shayaan is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shayaan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 628 people with the name Shayaan, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,522 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 Shayaan 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 Shayaan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shayaan leans strongly male. 615 people counted with this name were male (98.2%), compared with 11 female bearers (1.8%). 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 Shayaan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shayaan is Asian/Pacific Islander at 90.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Shayaan most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shayaan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (566 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 Shayaan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shayaan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shayaan 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 Shayaan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shayaan 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 Shayaan 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 share the name Shayaan?
You can see how many people share the name Shayaan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.