Shoua
A feminine Egyptian name meaning "light" or "radiance".
Name Census estimates that about 349 living Americans carry the first name Shoua. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 77.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Shoua today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shoua births was 1990 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shoua. 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
349
~ 1 in 982,104 Americans
Peak year
1990
36 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1994 SSA rank
#6,280
Tracked since 1980
Gender
Gender distribution for Shoua
Shoua is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 365 total registrations, 83 (22.7%) were male and 282 (77.3%) were female.
Shoua as a male name
- Ranked #6,280 in 1994
- 9 male births in 1994
- Peak: 1988 (12 births)
Shoua as a female name
- Ranked #8,257 in 1997
- 11 female births in 1997
- Peak: 1990 (27 births)
Popularity
Shoua: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shoua from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 213 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Shoua remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shoua 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 Shoua during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shouas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Wisconsin, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Shoua, while Minnesota, Wisconsin, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 52 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shoua
The given name Shoua has its origins in the Semitic languages, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Aramaic root "shava," which means "to return" or "to come back." The name's earliest recorded usage dates back to the 5th century BCE, found in ancient Aramaic inscriptions from the region of modern-day Syria and Iraq.
In the biblical era, Shoua was a name borne by several individuals mentioned in the Old Testament. One notable figure was Shoua, the son of Zabad, mentioned in 1 Chronicles 2:36-37 as a descendant of the tribe of Judah. Another Shoua is referenced in Ezra 2:43 as one of the Nethinim (temple assistants) who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity.
During the Middle Ages, the name Shoua was particularly prevalent among Jewish communities in the Middle East and North Africa. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Shoua ben Isaac, a 10th-century Jewish scholar and philosopher from Baghdad, Iraq. He was renowned for his contributions to the fields of theology and linguistics.
In the 12th century, Shoua ibn Shoua al-Yahudi was a prominent Jewish physician and philosopher from Andalusia (modern-day Spain). He is best known for his influential work, "The Book of Theories," which explored various philosophical and scientific concepts.
Another notable figure was Shoua ben Shmuel, a 13th-century Hebrew grammarian and poet from Provence, France. He authored several works on Hebrew grammar and poetry, including the well-known treatise "Sefer Ha-Galui."
During the Renaissance period, the name Shoua was less common, but it resurfaced in the 18th century with the birth of Shoua ibn Yaakov, a prominent Moroccan Jewish scholar and kabbalist. He was renowned for his expertise in the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah and his influential writings on the subject.
While the name Shoua has its roots in ancient Semitic cultures, it has remained a respected and meaningful name within Jewish communities throughout history, carrying the symbolism of return and renewal.
People
Shoua + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shoua 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
Shoua: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shoua?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 349 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shoua 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 982,104 US residents.
Is Shoua a common name?
We classify Shoua as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 365 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shoua most popular?
The single biggest year for Shoua was 1990, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shoua is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shoua a female name?
Yes, 77.3% of people registered as Shoua 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.