Girl · #17,634 in 2026

Shawanda

Name: Popularity of the name Shawanda in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Shawanda, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Shawanda is an Irish-bred, French-trained. Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She was unraced as a two-year-old and finished second on her racecourse debut in April 2005. She then established herself as one of the best fillies of her generation in Europe with five consecutive win including the Prix de Royaumont, Irish Oaks and the Prix Vermeille.

Current Rank

#17,634

Peak Rank

#806 (1977)

Total Babies

5-Yr Trend

Stable

1960

First Year

2007

Last Year

1977

Peak Year

#806

Peak Rank

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Shawanda

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Origin & history

Shawanda is a bay mare with a narrow white blaze bred in Ireland by her owner the Aga Khan at his Gilltown Stud in County Kildare . The Aga Khan's racing manager remembered her as "a most attractive yearling and as much as we could tell about her as a young horse, she was very athletic". Shawanda was sent into training with Alain de Royer-Dupré in France and was ridden in all of her races by Christophe Soumillon . She was sired by Sinndar , who won The Derby , Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 2000. The best of his other progeny were probably Youmzain and Shareta . Her dam Shamawna

The Story of Shawanda

Shawanda first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1960, with 6 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1977: 186 births, good for #806 nationwide. About 45% of every Shawanda on record arrived during the 1970s, its defining decade. Shawanda last appeared in the published SSA data in 2007, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 3K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1960s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Shawanda

Phonetically similar names — useful when Shawanda is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Shawanda

What does the name Shawanda mean?

How popular is Shawanda in 2026?

In 2026, Shawanda ranks #17,634 among girls' names in the U.S., with 5 babies given the name that year.

When was Shawanda most popular?

Shawanda reached its peak popularity in 1977, ranking #806 that year with 186 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Shawanda most popular?

Shawanda has historically been most popular in Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Shawanda.

Is Shawanda a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Shawanda is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Shawanda?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Shawanda include Clarabelle, Valinda, Deandra. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Shawanda

Shawanda is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1960 and has accumulated 3K births in the dataset. Shawanda's peak popularity came in 1977 when it ranked #806. Use the chart and map above to compare Shawanda's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.