Shenoa
Feminine name of Native American origin meaning "she has a certain inscrutable quality".
Name Census estimates that about 59 living Americans carry the first name Shenoa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shenoa today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shenoa births was 2008 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shenoa. 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 Shenoa. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
59
~ 1 in 5,809,396 Americans
Peak year
2008
10 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2008 SSA rank
#11,482
Tracked since 1972
Census
Shenoa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 156 people with the first name Shenoa, which placed it at #44,397 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
#44,397
National first-name rank
People counted
156
156 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shenoa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shenoa is White at 44.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.2%) and Black (12.8%). 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 Shenoa 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 Shenoa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.9% · 70
- Hispanic or Latino21.2% · 33
- Black or African American12.8% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native12.8% · 20
- Two or more races7.7% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Popularity
Shenoa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shenoa from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 20 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
Shenoa 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 Shenoa 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 Shenoa
The name Shenoa has its origins in the Native American Ojibwe language, spoken by the Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes region in North America. The name can be traced back to the late 17th century, derived from the Ojibwe word "zhinooz," which means "he/she took a path."
In the 18th century, the name Shenoa appeared in historical records and accounts of interactions between European settlers and the Anishinaabe people. It was often given to individuals who were known for their skills in navigation, pathfinding, or guiding others through the wilderness.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Shenoa was a renowned Ojibwe guide and interpreter who assisted French explorers and traders in the late 1600s. Unfortunately, specific details about this individual's life have been lost to history.
In the early 19th century, a prominent Ojibwe leader named Shenoa played a significant role in the negotiations and treaties between Native American tribes and the United States government. He was born around 1780 and was renowned for his diplomatic skills and efforts to preserve the rights and lands of his people.
Another notable figure with the name Shenoa was a celebrated Anishinaabe artist and storyteller who lived in the late 19th century. She was known for her intricate beadwork and her ability to captivate audiences with traditional tales and legends.
In the early 20th century, a respected Ojibwe elder named Shenoa was recognized for her extensive knowledge of traditional medicinal plants and healing practices. She played a vital role in preserving and passing down this valuable wisdom to younger generations.
In more recent times, Shenoa has been adopted as a given name by individuals outside of the Anishinaabe community, albeit with varying spellings and pronunciations. However, its roots remain firmly grounded in the rich cultural heritage of the Ojibwe people and their connection to the land and wilderness.
People
Shenoa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shenoa 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
Shenoa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shenoa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 59 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shenoa 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 5,809,396 US residents.
Is Shenoa a common name?
We classify Shenoa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 62 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shenoa most popular?
The single biggest year for Shenoa was 2008, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shenoa is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shenoa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 156 people with the name Shenoa, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,397 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 Shenoa 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 Shenoa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shenoa appears almost entirely female. Of the 158 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Shenoa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shenoa is White at 44.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.2%) and Black (12.8%). 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 Shenoa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shenoa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.9% (70 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 Shenoa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shenoa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shenoa 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 Shenoa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shenoa 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 Shenoa 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 common is the name Shenoa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.