Shoni
A name of Indian origin meaning "beautiful" or "golden".
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the first name Shoni. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shoni today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shoni births was 1974 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shoni. 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 Shoni with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
138
~ 1 in 2,483,727 Americans
Peak year
1974
11 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2018 SSA rank
#17,770
Tracked since 1969
Census
Shoni in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 248 people with the first name Shoni, which placed it at #33,395 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
#33,395
National first-name rank
People counted
248
248 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shoni
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shoni is White at 53.2%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (14.9%). 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 Shoni 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 Shoni at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.2% · 132
- Black or African American14.9% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native14.9% · 37
- Two or more races8.5% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.5% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 5
Popularity
Shoni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shoni from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 76 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Shoni remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shoni 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 Shoni 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 Shoni
The name Shoni has its origins in the Swahili language, spoken primarily in East Africa. It is derived from the word "shoni," which means "beauty" or "attractive." The name is believed to have emerged in the region around the 15th century, during the height of the Swahili Coast civilization.
Shoni was a popular name among the Swahili people, who were known for their rich cultural traditions and maritime trade. The name was often given to girls born into influential families or those who were considered exceptionally beautiful.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Shoni can be found in the chronicles of the Kilwa Sultanate, a powerful maritime empire that flourished along the Swahili Coast from the 13th to the 16th centuries. These chronicles mention a princess named Shoni, who was renowned for her beauty and intelligence.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shoni. One such figure was Shoni bint Isa (1492-1567), a Swahili poet and scholar from the island of Pate. She was celebrated for her mastery of Arabic and her contributions to the literary traditions of the Swahili Coast.
Another prominent Shoni was Shoni ibn Hafiz (1620-1698), a Swahili trader and explorer who traveled extensively throughout the Indian Ocean region. His accounts of his voyages and encounters with different cultures were widely circulated and helped foster greater understanding between peoples.
In the 19th century, Shoni bint Abdallah (1825-1892) was a renowned Swahili leader and diplomat from Zanzibar. She played a crucial role in negotiating trade agreements and fostering peaceful relations between the Swahili city-states and the British Empire.
The name Shoni also found its way into the literary traditions of the Swahili people. One of the most celebrated works of Swahili literature, the epic poem "Utendi wa Tambuka," features a character named Shoni, who represents the ideal of beauty and virtue.
Another notable figure named Shoni was Shoni ibn Bakari (1900-1982), a Swahili historian and anthropologist from Kenya. His research and writings on the history and culture of the Swahili people helped preserve and promote their rich heritage.
While the name Shoni is deeply rooted in the Swahili culture, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly among those with East African ancestry or an appreciation for the rich cultural traditions of the region.
People
Shoni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shoni 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
Shoni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shoni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 138 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shoni 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 2,483,727 US residents.
Is Shoni a common name?
We classify Shoni as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 149 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shoni most popular?
The single biggest year for Shoni was 1974, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shoni is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shoni in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 248 people with the name Shoni, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,395 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 Shoni 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 Shoni?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shoni leans strongly female. 217 people counted with this name were female (91.6%), compared with 20 male bearers (8.4%). 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 Shoni?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shoni is White at 53.2%. The next largest groups are Black (14.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (14.9%). 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 Shoni most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shoni in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.2% (132 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 Shoni in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shoni a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shoni 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 Shoni still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shoni 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 Shoni 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 Shoni?
Find out how many people have the name Shoni on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.