Shena
Feminine · “God has been gracious”
Sine is the Gaelic Jane, and Sheena is how English writes it. Shena writes with one e what Sheena writes with two — three spellings of a name that Scottish Gaelic has been spelling its own way, consistently, for several hundred years.
How old is the name Shena?
Shena first appears in US birth records in 1952 — 73 years ago. The typical Shena alive today was born around 1982, making them about 43 years old. About 2,300 people named Shena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shena most popular?
Shena peaked in 1984, reaching #802 nationally. See the whole 1984 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Sine to Shena
The story of Shena
Gaelic spelling is regular and English readers cannot use it, which is the recurring problem with every Gaelic name in English. Sine is two syllables with an accent that tells a Gaelic reader exactly what to do and tells an English reader nothing at all. So English writes Sheena, which is unambiguous and looks nothing like the original, and then produces further spellings of its own — Shena, Shiona, Sheona — each of them a step further from a spelling that was never difficult in the first place.
Meaning
God has been gracious
The Gaelic Sine is the feminine of Seon, the Gaelic John, and carries John's meaning through French and Latin. The English spellings are attempts at the sound.
How the name formed
- Sine
- Sheena
- Shena
Related forms: Sine
Pronouncing Shena
SHEE-nuh
Two syllables with the weight at the front. Gaelic says SHEE-nuh too, which is why the English spellings work at all.
Nicknames for Shena
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
- 1952
- Most girls named
- 1984198 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #802reached in 1984
- Change vs 2011
- −14.3%6 in 2018, 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.
Shena in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sine in Scottish Gaelic — same name
Shenas among us
people named Shena 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
Shena 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
- Five letters, two syllables, and nothing that has to be explained.
- It is a genuine Gaelic name rather than an American construction.
- It sits comfortably in front of almost any surname.
- Sheena is the commoner spelling and will be written instead.
- The single e invites a short vowel that the name does not have.
- It reads clearly as a name of the second half of the twentieth century.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Shena to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Shena? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Shena
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Shenas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,300 people named Shena are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shena in 2025?
- Shena is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Shena with classmates?
- Shena 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 Shena? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shena and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle