Recorded 1933–2025 · United States
Shane was most popular in 1973, when 5,931 American babies were given the name — ranking #100 that year. In 2025 it ranked #1,287, with 439 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 196,166 people named Shane.
Shane first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1933, which makes it about 92 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 91 of the 93 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 196,166 American births named Shane between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 183,774 are estimated to be alive today.
439 American babies were named Shane in 2025, ranking #1,287 that year.
Shane is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 534 births a year, against 1,424 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -63% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Shane is a boy’s name — 1.8% of the 196,166 Americans given it were girls and 98.2% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 2% girls and 98% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 183,774 Americans named Shane are alive today — 94% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 39 years old, and half are between 28 and 50.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
Irish · form of Sean, "God is gracious"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Shane on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org