Shulamith
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "perfect", "peaceful", or "wholesome".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Shulamith. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shulamith today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shulamith births was 1944 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shulamith. 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 Shulamith. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
1944
5 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
1986 SSA rank
#12,545
Tracked since 1944
Census
Shulamith in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 142 people with the first name Shulamith, which placed it at #46,696 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
#46,696
National first-name rank
People counted
142
142 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
91.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shulamith
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shulamith is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Black (2.8%). 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 Shulamith 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 Shulamith at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 130
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 5
- Black or African American2.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 2
- Two or more races0.7% · 1
Popularity
Shulamith: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shulamith from the 1940s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 15 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Shulamith remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shulamith 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 Shulamith during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shulamiths live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shulamith
The name Shulamith has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture. It is a feminine form of the Hebrew name Shelomo (Solomon), which is derived from the Hebrew root sh-l-m, meaning "peace". The name is first mentioned in the biblical Song of Songs, where it refers to the female protagonist, often interpreted as a symbolic representation of the relationship between God and the people of Israel.
The name Shulamith gained significant prominence in Jewish tradition and literature. In the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism, Shulamith is described as a virtuous woman, embodying the ideals of modesty, wisdom, and devotion to God. This association with virtue and spiritual qualities contributed to the name's enduring popularity among Jewish communities throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Shulamith is found in the Book of Judges, which mentions a woman named Shulamith who was one of the wives of the judge Samson. However, this reference is considered by some scholars to be a later addition to the text.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Shulamith. One of the most famous was Shulamith Kuperman (1906-1983), an Israeli writer and poet who was a prominent figure in the Hebrew literary renaissance of the early 20th century. Her works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, and she is considered a significant contributor to modern Hebrew literature.
Another noteworthy Shulamith was Shulamith Hareven (1930-2003), an Israeli author and journalist who wrote extensively about the experiences of Jewish immigrants in Israel. Her novels and short stories, such as "The Immigrant Husband" and "City of Many Days," offered poignant insights into the challenges and complexities of Israeli society.
In the world of music, Shulamith Firestone (1945-2012) was a prominent feminist writer and activist who authored "The Dialectic of Sex," a groundbreaking work that explored the connections between women's oppression and the development of class societies. Her ideas had a significant influence on the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Shulamith Oppenheim (1903-1997) was a German-born Israeli poet and translator who played a crucial role in introducing German literature to Hebrew readers. Her translations of works by prominent German writers, such as Goethe and Rilke, helped bridge cultural gaps and fostered a greater appreciation for European literature within the Israeli literary community.
While these examples showcase the diverse backgrounds and achievements of individuals named Shulamith, the name's biblical and historical roots in Jewish tradition have continued to shape its cultural significance and enduring appeal across generations.
People
Shulamith + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shulamith 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
Shulamith: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shulamith?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shulamith 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Shulamith a common name?
We classify Shulamith as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 20 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shulamith most popular?
The single biggest year for Shulamith was 1944, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shulamith is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shulamith in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 142 people with the name Shulamith, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,696 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 Shulamith 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 Shulamith?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shulamith appears almost entirely female. Of the 141 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Shulamith?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shulamith is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.5%) and Black (2.8%). 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 Shulamith most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shulamith in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (130 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 Shulamith in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shulamith a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shulamith 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 Shulamith still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shulamith 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 Shulamith 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 called Shulamith?
You can see how many people have the name Shulamith on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.