How Many People Are Named Shan?
An estimated 2,799 people in the United States have the first name Shan. It is used for both genders, with 72.0% male. The average bearer is 44 years old, and Shan peaked in popularity in 1970 with 105 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Shan as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Shan paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
2,799
About 1 in 122,456 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
72.0% confidence
Average Age
44
years old
Peak Year
1970
105 births
Total Registered
3,088
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Shan
Shan is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (72.0%) and females (28.0%). Out of 3,088 total births registered, 2,224 were male and 864 were female.
Shan as a male name
Ranked #9,704 in 2024
8 male births in 2024
Peak: 1969 (73 births)
Shan as a female name
Ranked #18,450 in 2016
5 female births in 2016
Peak: 1970 (45 births)
Shan: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Shan span from the 1940s to the 2020s, covering 9 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 779 babies were registered. Shan has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Shan by Decade
How has Shan tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Shan by State
Birth registrations for Shan span all 11 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Kentucky, North Carolina, Washington. On average, about 45 Shans were registered per state.
Shan + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Shan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Shan
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Shan: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shan?
We estimate approximately 2,799 people named Shan are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 122,456 Americans share this first name.
Is Shan a common name?
Shan is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 94.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 3,088 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Shan most popular?
Shan reached peak popularity in 1970, when 105 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Shan is approximately 44 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Shan a male name?
Shan is predominantly male. 72.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Shan Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Shan Smith, Shan Johnson, Shan Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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