Girls' name · since 1962
Shanel
2,526 babies named Shanel in U.S. Social Security records since 1962, with the highest year being 1991. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #4,025 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #9,588 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,526
- born since 1962
- 1980s
- peak decade
2,526 babies have been named Shanel since 1962, making it today's #9588 girls' name.
Shanel has 2,526 recorded births among girls since 1962, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #9588 as of the latest data, more common than 45% of girls, busiest in the 1980s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1962 to 2025.
- #4,025 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #9,588 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 2,526 born since 1962
- 1980s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Shanel ranks #4,025 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #9,588 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 2,526 born since 1962, peaking in the 1980s.
- #4,025 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #9,588 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,526
- born since 1962
- 1980s
- peak decade
Shanel's 2,526 recorded births place it above 94.43% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
13 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Shanel compares
2,526 Top 20% higher than 80% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Shanel's all-time total is 7x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Shanel | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 2,526 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 100 | 21 | 19,840 |
Shanel's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Shanel's SSA record in two at 1995 and the more recent half accounts for 37% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 63%, consistent with a name more common in the past than in recent years. Its calmest year was 1962, with only 6 births recorded -- set against the 1991 peak of 100, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Shanel popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1962–2025
- Peak year (1991)
- 100
- Annual births at peak, across 64 years of records
Shanel by decade
1980s is the heaviest window (769 births, 30% of the file).
1980s was Shanel's strongest decade.
769 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 30% of all-time use.
Shanel births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1960s 56
1960s
56 births
- 1970s
1970s
342 births
- 1980s
1980s
769 births
- 1990s
1990s
686 births
- 2000s
2000s
337 births
- 2010s 263
2010s
263 births
- 2020s 73
2020s
73 births
What this shows Peak: 1980s at 769 births (30% of all-time use).
How Shanel compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Shanel's total volume
Shanel by state
Where Shanel concentrates geographically, total births since 1962
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 303 | 12.0% |
| #2 | California | | 271 | 10.7% |
| #3 | Florida | | 57 | 2.3% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 33 | 1.3% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 33 | 1.3% |
| #6 | Texas | | 33 | 1.3% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 29 | 1.1% |
| #8 | New Jersey | | 27 | 1.1% |
303 of 2,526 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 13 reporting states.
Shanel appears in 13 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Shanel? ▼
Where does Shanel sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Shanel most popular? ▼
Where is Shanel most popular? ▼
How long has the name Shanel been used? ▼
What names are similar to Shanel? ▼
What to do with Shanel's data
- Shanel's decade-level peak was the 1980s (769 total births); usage has since declined to 73 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Shanels (303 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Shanel
Nearby Names Like Shanel
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Shanel
Compare Shanel side by side: Shanel vs Sharon Shanel vs Shannon Shanel vs Shawna
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Shanel
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Shanel: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1991)
Similar record span (~63 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1962–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Shanel draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.