Shinita
A feminine name meaning "moon" in Cebuano.
Name Census estimates that about 145 living Americans carry the first name Shinita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shinita today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shinita births was 1972 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shinita. 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.
People living today
145
~ 1 in 2,363,823 Americans
Peak year
1972
16 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1990 SSA rank
#14,928
Tracked since 1956
Census
Shinita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 156 people with the first name Shinita, 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
Black or African American
90.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shinita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shinita is Black at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Shinita 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 Shinita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.4% · 141
- Two or more races3.8% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 4
- White0.6% · 1
Popularity
Shinita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shinita from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 74 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
Shinita 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 Shinita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shinitas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shinita
The name Shinita is believed to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, possibly derived from the Sanskrit word "Shanti," meaning peace or tranquility. This name has been in use for centuries, with its earliest known references dating back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Shinita was a renowned scholar and philosopher who lived in the 5th century BCE. He was known for his contributions to the study of Vedic literature and his teachings on the path to enlightenment.
In the 9th century CE, a Buddhist monk named Shinita gained recognition for his work in spreading the teachings of Buddhism throughout Southeast Asia. He is credited with establishing several monasteries and educating countless students in the principles of mindfulness and compassion.
During the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, Shinita was the name of a skilled artisan who was renowned for her intricate embroidery work. Her creations adorned the garments of royalty and were highly sought after throughout the region.
In the late 18th century, a prominent Indian freedom fighter named Shinita played a crucial role in the resistance against British colonial rule. She is remembered for her bravery and unwavering commitment to the cause of Indian independence.
More recently, in the early 20th century, Shinita was the name of a pioneering Indian feminist and social reformer. She dedicated her life to advocating for women's rights, education, and empowerment, and her work inspired generations of activists and changemakers.
While the name Shinita has its roots in the Indian subcontinent, it has been embraced by various cultures and communities around the world, each imbuing it with their own meanings and associations.
People
Shinita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shinita 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
Shinita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shinita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 145 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shinita 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 2,363,823 US residents.
Is Shinita a common name?
We classify Shinita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 160 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shinita most popular?
The single biggest year for Shinita was 1972, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shinita is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shinita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 156 people with the name Shinita, 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 Shinita 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 Shinita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shinita appears almost entirely female. Of the 149 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 Shinita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shinita is Black at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (2.6%). 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 Shinita most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shinita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (141 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 Shinita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shinita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shinita 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 Shinita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shinita 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 Shinita 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 Shinita?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.