Shown
Of Anglo-Saxon origin, meaning "he who has been shown or revealed".
Name Census estimates that about 74 living Americans carry the first name Shown. It is a predominantly male name (92.6% of registrations). The average person named Shown today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shown births was 1970 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shown. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shown. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
74
~ 1 in 4,631,815 Americans
Peak year
1970
12 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
1994 SSA rank
#7,854
Tracked since 1968
Census
Shown in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 129 people with the first name Shown, which placed it at #48,862 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
#48,862
National first-name rank
People counted
129
129 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
39.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shown
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shown is White at 39.5%. The next largest groups are Black (38.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.7%). 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 Shown 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 Shown at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White39.5% · 51
- Black or African American38.8% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.7% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 3
- Two or more races1.6% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Shown
Shown leans heavily male at 92.6% of total registrations, but 6 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shown as a male name
- Ranked #10,034 in 1994
- 5 male births in 1994
- Peak: 1971 (11 births)
Shown as a female name
- Ranked #7,854 in 1970
- 6 female births in 1970
- Peak: 1970 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shown leans strongly male. 121 people counted with this name were male (87.7%), compared with 17 female bearers (12.3%).
Popularity
Shown: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shown from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 59 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
Shown 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 Shown 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 Shown
The name Shown has its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language, with roots dating back to the Vedic period of Indian history, around 1500-500 BCE. The name is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "shona," which means "red" or "reddish-brown," possibly referring to the color of the earth or the sun.
In ancient Hindu scriptures, such as the Vedas and Upanishads, there are references to various deities and sages with names similar to Shown. For instance, the Rig Veda mentions a sage named Shunah-shepa, who was renowned for his wisdom and devotion to the gods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shown can be traced back to the 6th century BCE, when a renowned scholar and philosopher named Shown lived in ancient India. He was known for his contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shown. One of the most famous was Shown of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th century BCE. He was a student of Socrates and is credited with influencing the development of Western philosophy.
In the 12th century CE, there was a Sufi mystic named Shown al-Din, who was renowned for his poetry and spiritual teachings. His works had a profound impact on the Islamic mystical tradition and continue to be studied and celebrated by scholars and devotees alike.
During the Renaissance period, a Italian painter named Shown Botticelli (1445-1510) gained prominence for his iconic works, such as "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera." His paintings were celebrated for their intricate details, vibrant colors, and allegorical themes.
In more recent times, Shown Douglass (1817-1895) was an influential African-American social reformer, abolitionist, and statesman. He was a prominent figure in the anti-slavery movement and played a crucial role in the struggle for civil rights in the United States.
Lastly, Shown Chiba (1911-1992) was a renowned Japanese writer and poet, known for his lyrical and introspective works. He was an influential figure in the Japanese literary scene and received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Akutagawa Prize and the Order of Culture.
People
Shown + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shown 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
Shown: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shown?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 74 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shown 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 4,631,815 US residents.
Is Shown a common name?
We classify Shown as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 81 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shown most popular?
The single biggest year for Shown was 1970, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shown is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shown in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 129 people with the name Shown, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,862 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 Shown 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 Shown?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shown leans strongly male. 121 people counted with this name were male (87.7%), compared with 17 female bearers (12.3%). 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 Shown?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shown is White at 39.5%. The next largest groups are Black (38.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (14.7%). 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 Shown most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shown in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.5% (51 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 Shown in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shown a male name?
Yes, 92.6% of people registered as Shown in the SSA data are male. 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 Shown still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shown 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 Shown 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 Americans are named Shown?
See how many people share the name Shown on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.