Girl · #12,120 in 2026

Shawnee

The Shawnee are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language.

  • English
Current Rank
#12,120
Peak Rank
#865 (1992)
Total Babies
4K
5-Yr Trend
-32%
1943
First Year
2024
Last Year
1992
Peak Year
#865
Peak Rank
4K
Total Count
77
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Shawnee

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

The Shawnee are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language.

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

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • English
Etymology
Shawnee has also been written as Shaawana and Shawanese . Individuals and singular Shawnee tribes may be referred to as šaawanwa , while the collective Shawnee people may be referred to as šaawanwaki or šaawanooki . Algonquian languages include words similar to the archaic shawano (now: shaawanwa ), meaning "south". However, the stem šawa- does not mean "south" in Shawnee, but rather "moderate, warm (of weather)": See Charles F. Voegelin , "šawa (plus -ni, -te) Moderate, Warm. Cp. šawani 'it is moderating...". In one Shawnee tale, "Sawage" (šaawaki) is the deity of the south wind. Jeremiah Cur

The Story of Shawnee

Shawnee first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1943, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1992, when 228 Shawnees were born — ranking #865 that year. As of 2026, Shawnee ranks #12,120 for baby girls with 7 births, falling sharply (-32%). In total, more than 4K Shawnees have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1940s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
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VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
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Top 10
11-50
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101-500
500+
No data

Names that sound like Shawnee

Phonetically similar names — useful when Shawnee 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 Shawnee

What does the name Shawnee mean?
The Shawnee are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language.
What is the origin of the name Shawnee?
Shawnee has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English.
How popular is Shawnee in 2026?
In 2026, Shawnee ranks #12,120 among girls' names in the U.S., with 7 babies given the name that year.
When was Shawnee most popular?
Shawnee reached its peak popularity in 1992, ranking #865 that year with 228 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Shawnee most popular?
Shawnee has historically been most popular in Montana, Utah, Oregon. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Shawnee.
Is Shawnee a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Shawnee is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.
What names go well with Shawnee?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Shawnee include Gunda, Antonina, Judyth. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

Similar Names

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Judyth
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Malvina
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About the name Shawnee

Shawnee is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1943 and has accumulated 4K births in the dataset. Shawnee's peak popularity came in 1992 when it ranked #865. Use the chart and map above to compare Shawnee'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.