Shulonda
A feminine name derived from Shalon (meaning "peace") and Dawn ("morning light") combined.
Name Census estimates that about 23 living Americans carry the first name Shulonda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shulonda today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shulonda births was 1978 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shulonda. 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 Shulonda. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
23
~ 1 in 14,902,363 Americans
Peak year
1978
8 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
1984 SSA rank
#10,209
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Shulonda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shulonda from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 19 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Shulonda remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shulonda 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 Shulonda 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 Shulonda
The name Shulonda is believed to have its roots in the Kikongo language of the Bantu people from central Africa. It is a combination of two words, "shulu" meaning "peace" and "onda" meaning "born" or "created." The name is thought to have originated in the late 16th or early 17th century during the expansion of the Portuguese Empire into the region.
This feminine name was likely first used by Portuguese colonists in their African territories, blending the native Kikongo words with the Portuguese language. It may have been given to children born during periods of relative peace or as a wish for a peaceful life for the newborn.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shulonda can be found in the baptismal records of the Portuguese colonial settlement of Luanda, Angola, dating back to the late 1600s. A woman named Shulonda de Conceição was baptized in the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição in 1692.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Shulonda appeared in various historical documents and records from Portuguese colonial territories in Africa, particularly in Angola and Mozambique. It was commonly used among the mixed-race population known as "mestiços" or "mulatos," who were of both African and Portuguese descent.
One notable figure from history who bore the name Shulonda was Shulonda Fernandes da Silva, a prominent landowner and businesswoman in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique in the late 19th century. She was born in 1848 and played a significant role in the economic development of the region through her various business ventures.
Another historical figure with the name Shulonda was Shulonda Ribeiro, a renowned educator and advocate for women's rights in Angola during the early 20th century. Born in 1879, she established several schools for girls and fought against the oppressive colonial policies that restricted educational opportunities for women.
In the late 20th century, Shulonda Bato Enook became a prominent political figure in Angola after the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Born in 1936, she served as a member of the National Assembly and played a crucial role in the reconstruction and development of the newly independent nation.
While the name Shulonda has its roots in the Bantu languages of central Africa, it was likely popularized and spread throughout the Portuguese colonial territories in the region, where it gained a unique cultural significance as a blend of African and Portuguese influences.
People
Shulonda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shulonda 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
Shulonda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shulonda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 23 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shulonda 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 14,902,363 US residents.
Is Shulonda a common name?
We classify Shulonda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 42.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shulonda most popular?
The single biggest year for Shulonda was 1978, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shulonda is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shulonda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shulonda 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.