Shenandoah

UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Variant of Skenandoa

Shenandoah has been given to 459 babies in the U.S. since 1968. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1995, with 18 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 76% girls, 24% boys all-time.

Babies named Shenandoah, 2024

1 in 669,000

Shenandoah over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Shenandoah over time

In 2024, Shenandoah went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

19652024

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Shenandoah: meaning, origin, and history

Variant of Skenandoa

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Shenandoah means

Shenandoah is a variant of Skenandoa.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Shenandoah is used in Oneida (Anglicized).

Another recorded pronunciation is /ˌʃɛn.ən.ˈdoʊ.ə/ for Shenandoah.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Skenandoa.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 347 girls were recorded with the name Shenandoah between 1968 and 2024. Its highest annual count was 18 in 1995; its best national rank was #4,322 in 1975.

In the United States, 112 boys were recorded with the name Shenandoah between 1965 and 1993. Its highest annual count was 15 in 1965; its best national rank was #2,159 in 1965.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

U.S. Social Security Administration: national name data and limitations

How common is Shenandoah?

Shenandoah had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2024, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2024: 1 in 669,000; 5 of 3,342,801 births
Among girls only: 1 in 324,000; <0.01% of girls
Rank, 2024: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 463,412 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Shenandoah sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2024 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 463,412 children born in 2024 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Shenandoah. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Shenandoahs were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Shenandoah was born before 1990 — so the typical Shenandoah is around 35 today.

Median birth year: 1990; About 35 years old
Biggest decade: 1990s; 27.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 22.8%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 347; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1990s — 27.4% of all recorded uses (95).

Is Shenandoah rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1995 (18)
Years since peak: 30; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 34.3% average annual change
Best rank ever: #4,322; 1975

Where Shenandoah is used

Across 1910–2025, Shenandoah was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 1,601,278 across all states with data.

00 per 100,000

State popularity map

Most concentrated

1California1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Shenandoah has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Shenandoah around the world

Where Shenandoah ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

South Australia
1981–1981
#616
in 1981

Popularity data from Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Shenandoah by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #4,322; 1975
Peak year: 1995; 18 that year
First recorded: 1968
Last recorded: 2024
All-time count: 347
Count in 2025: Under 5

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #2,159; 1965
Peak year: 1965; 15 that year
First recorded: 1965
Last recorded: 1993
All-time count: 112
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Shenandoah

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Sibling names for Shenandoah

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Corrina Darby Alexandrea Iman Breonna Fabiola Berenice Alex

For a brother

Hernan Rashawn Travon Madison Austen Deonte Denton Austyn

Explore around Shenandoah

Top names of 1995, Shenandoah's peak year The 1990s in full Other names that peaked in 1975 Girls' names starting with S