Shawndra
Feminine
Shawndra joins an American spelling of an Irish name to an ending that came loose from a completely different name. The English word its back half approaches is an ancient Greek coin that turned into a measure and then into a drink.
How old is the name Shawndra?
Shawndra first appears in US birth records in 1962 — 63 years ago. The typical Shawndra alive today was born around 1979, making them about 46 years old. About 600 people named Shawndra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shawndra most popular?
Shawndra peaked in 1974, reaching #2133 nationally. See the whole 1974 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Shawndra
A dram is a Greek coin. The drachma was a silver piece and also a weight — the two were the same thing, since coins were valued by metal — and the weight traveled into Roman, medieval and eventually apothecaries' systems as the dram: an eighth of an ounce in the old pharmacy measure, a sixteenth in avoirdupois. Because medicines were dispensed in drams, and because spirits were dispensed medicinally, the word attached itself to a small measure of whisky, which is the only sense most people now meet. In Scotland a dram is not a quantity at all any more; it is simply a drink of whisky, and asking for a precise one marks you as not local. The Greek coin, the pharmacy measure and the Scottish glass are one word doing three jobs two thousand years apart.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The front is the American spelling of the Irish form of John. The ending came off names like Sandra and Deandra and carries nothing of its own. Nothing records what a family meant by joining them.
Pronouncing Shawndra
SHAWN-druh
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The join between the two pieces sits inside the consonant cluster, which is what makes the name sound like one word rather than two.
Nicknames for Shawndra
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1962
- Most girls named
- 197438 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2133reached in 1974
- Change vs 2002
- −14.3%6 in 2003, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Shawndras among us
people named Shawndra are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Shawndra sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Shawn detaches cleanly and is understood everywhere.
- Two syllables with front stress is easy to say and quick.
- The spelling is phonetic and survives being heard once.
- Shaundra, Shondra and Sandra will all be written for it.
- The name is firmly dated to the decades it was made in.
- Only the front carries a meaning, and it carries it at several removes.
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Shawndra
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Shawndras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Shawndra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shawndra in 2025?
- Shawndra is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Shawndra with classmates?
- Shawndra will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Susan#1085 · Sarah#90 · Sandra#1207 · Stephanie#557 · Sharon#1250 · Shirley#1581 · Samantha#151 · Sophia#5
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shawndra? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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