Shen
Of Chinese origin, it means divine or spirit.
Name Census estimates that about 55 living Americans carry the first name Shen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shen today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shen births was 2022 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shen. 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 Shen with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
55
~ 1 in 6,231,897 Americans
Peak year
2022
8 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2022 SSA rank
#9,697
Tracked since 1975
Census
Shen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,126 people with the first name Shen, which placed it at #11,399 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
#11,399
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,126 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shen is Asian/Pacific Islander at 82.1%. The next largest groups are White (8.5%) and Black (4.4%). 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 Shen 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 Shen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander82.1% · 925
- White8.5% · 96
- Black or African American4.4% · 49
- Two or more races2.5% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 7
Popularity
Shen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shen from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 32 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shen 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 Shen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shen
The name Shen has its origins in Chinese culture, with the earliest recorded use dating back to ancient times. The word "shen" in Chinese refers to deities, spirits, or supernatural beings, reflecting a deep connection to the spiritual realm.
In Chinese mythology and folklore, the concept of "shen" played a significant role, representing the divine forces that governed various aspects of life and nature. The name Shen may have been bestowed upon individuals in the hope of invoking divine protection or blessings.
One of the earliest and most notable historical references to the name Shen can be found in the ancient Chinese philosophical text, the "Yijing" or "Book of Changes." This text, which dates back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BC), mentions the concept of "shen" as a fundamental principle of the universe.
Throughout Chinese history, several influential figures have borne the name Shen. One notable example is Shen Nong (circa 2800 BC), the legendary Divine Farmer and the father of Chinese agriculture. He is revered for his contributions to the development of agriculture, herbology, and traditional Chinese medicine.
Another prominent individual was Shen Kuo (1031–1095 AD), a renowned polymath, statesman, and scientist of the Song Dynasty. He made significant contributions to various fields, including mathematics, astronomy, meteorology, and geology. His work, the "Dream Pool Essays," is considered a masterpiece of Chinese literature and scientific thought.
In the realm of literature, Shen Jiji (1672–1718) was a celebrated playwright and poet during the Qing Dynasty. His most famous work, "The Peony Pavilion," is regarded as one of the greatest dramatic works in Chinese literature and has been widely performed and studied.
Shen Congwen (1902–1988) was a celebrated 20th-century Chinese novelist and essayist, known for his vivid depictions of rural life and folklore. His works, such as "The Border Town" and "Fang Gezhi's Family," are considered classics of modern Chinese literature.
Shen Zhou (1427–1509) was a renowned painter and calligrapher during the Ming Dynasty. He was part of the Wu School of painting and is celebrated for his landscapes, bird-and-flower paintings, and calligraphic works, which exemplify the literati tradition of Chinese art.
The name Shen has a rich history in Chinese culture, reflecting a deep connection to spiritual beliefs, mythology, and the pursuit of knowledge and artistic expression. Its use throughout the centuries serves as a testament to the enduring influence of Chinese civilization on naming traditions.
People
Shen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shen 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
Shen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 55 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shen 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 6,231,897 US residents.
Is Shen a common name?
We classify Shen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 56 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shen most popular?
The single biggest year for Shen was 2022, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shen is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,126 people with the name Shen, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,399 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 Shen 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 Shen?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shen on both sides of the split. Of the 1,124 people counted with this name, 725 were male (64.5%) and 399 were female (35.5%). 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 Shen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shen is Asian/Pacific Islander at 82.1%. The next largest groups are White (8.5%) and Black (4.4%). 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 Shen most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (925 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 Shen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shen 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 Shen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shen 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 Shen 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 Shen as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.