Shoshanah
A feminine Hebrew name meaning "rose" or "lily".
Name Census estimates that about 185 living Americans carry the first name Shoshanah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shoshanah today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shoshanah births was 1997 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shoshanah. 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
185
~ 1 in 1,852,726 Americans
Peak year
1997
13 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2018 SSA rank
#17,771
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Shoshanah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shoshanah from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 79 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shoshanah 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 Shoshanah 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 Shoshanah
The name Shoshanah is a Hebrew name derived from the Hebrew word "shoshanah," which means "rose" or "lily." It has its roots in ancient times, with references to the name found in the Bible and other Jewish texts.
The earliest known mention of the name Shoshanah can be traced back to the Book of Song of Songs in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. In this poetic book, the name is used as a symbolic reference to a beautiful and beloved woman.
Throughout Jewish history, the name Shoshanah has been associated with various notable figures. One of the earliest recorded examples is Shoshanah, the daughter of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, a prominent Jewish scholar who lived in the 3rd century CE.
In the Middle Ages, Shoshanah was the name of a famous Jewish poet and scholar from Spain, known as Shoshanah Shulamit, who lived in the 14th century. Her works were widely celebrated and contributed significantly to the literary and cultural heritage of the Sephardic Jews.
Another notable figure bearing the name Shoshanah was Shoshanah Leah Brandeis, the wife of the influential American jurist and Supreme Court Justice, Louis D. Brandeis. She was born in 1888 and played an active role in various philanthropic and social causes alongside her husband.
In more recent history, Shoshanah Persitz was a prominent Israeli actress and singer who gained fame in the mid-20th century. She was born in 1923 and became known for her roles in several popular Israeli films and theater productions.
Shoshanah Shabazi was an influential Yemeni-Israeli writer and activist who advocated for the rights of the Yemeni Jewish community in Israel. She was born in 1945 and her works shed light on the experiences of Yemeni Jews and their integration into Israeli society.
People
Shoshanah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shoshanah 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
Shoshanah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shoshanah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 185 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shoshanah 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 1,852,726 US residents.
Is Shoshanah a common name?
We classify Shoshanah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 193 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shoshanah most popular?
The single biggest year for Shoshanah was 1997, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shoshanah is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shoshanah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shoshanah 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.
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.