Shonda
A feminine given name of African American origin meaning "she who walks with her head held high".
Name Census estimates that about 6,685 living Americans carry the first name Shonda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shonda today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shonda births was 1970 (510 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shonda. 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
6.7K
~ 1 in 51,272 Americans
Peak year
1970
510 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2008 SSA rank
#20,040
Tracked since 1954
Census
Shonda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 6,477 people with the first name Shonda, which placed it at #3,297 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
#3,297
National first-name rank
People counted
6.5K
6,477 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
49.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shonda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shonda is Black at 49.1%. The next largest groups are White (44.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Shonda 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 Shonda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American49.1% · 3,179
- White44.5% · 2,882
- Two or more races3.6% · 233
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 104
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 69
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 10
Popularity
Shonda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shonda from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 4,074 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
Shonda 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 Shonda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shondas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 34 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Shonda, while West Virginia, Washington, South Dakota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 172 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shonda
The name Shonda is believed to have originated from the African continent, with its roots tracing back to the Swahili language spoken in East Africa. In Swahili, the word "shonda" means "problem" or "trouble," suggesting that the name may have once carried a connotation of difficulty or adversity.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Shonda can be found in the late 19th century, when it began to appear in historical records and documents from the region. While its exact origins are unclear, some scholars have speculated that it may have been derived from a combination of Swahili words or phrases that were eventually condensed into a single name.
Throughout history, the name Shonda has been borne by several notable individuals, including Shonda Rhimes, an American television producer, screenwriter, and author born in 1970. Rhimes is best known for creating hit shows like "Grey's Anatomy," "Scandal," and "How to Get Away with Murder." Her work has earned her numerous accolades, including several Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
Another prominent figure with the name Shonda was Shonda Schilling, an American philanthropist and activist born in 1966. Schilling is the founder of the Shade Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting individuals and families affected by skin cancer. She has been recognized for her efforts in raising awareness and funds for this cause.
In the realm of sports, Shonda Strickland, an American professional basketball player born in 1972, made her mark as a member of the WNBA's Houston Comets and Seattle Storm teams. Strickland was a key contributor to the Comets' championship-winning seasons in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Stepping back in time, the name Shonda can also be found in historical records from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One notable example is Shonda Williams, an African American educator and activist born in 1871 in Mississippi. Williams dedicated her life to promoting education and advocating for the rights of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction era.
Moving further into the past, there are records of a Shonda Mbele, a prominent figure in the Zulu Kingdom of Southern Africa during the late 18th century. Mbele was known for her leadership skills and played a significant role in the affairs of the kingdom during her lifetime.
While the name Shonda may have originated from humble beginnings, it has been carried by individuals who have left their mark on various fields throughout history, including entertainment, activism, sports, and education. Despite its potentially challenging connotation, the name has come to represent strength, resilience, and the ability to overcome adversity.
People
Shonda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shonda 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
Shonda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shonda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,685 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shonda 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 51,272 US residents.
Is Shonda a common name?
We classify Shonda as "Rare". It ranks above 97.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,444 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shonda most popular?
The single biggest year for Shonda was 1970, when 510 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shonda is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shonda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 6,477 people with the name Shonda, or 2.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,297 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 Shonda 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 Shonda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shonda appears almost entirely female. Of the 6,481 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Shonda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shonda is Black at 49.1%. The next largest groups are White (44.5%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Shonda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shonda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.1% (3,179 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 Shonda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shonda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shonda 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 Shonda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shonda 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 Shonda 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 are named Shonda?
Find out how many people share the name Shonda on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.