Santia
Feminine name of Spanish origin representing "saintly" or "holy one".
Name Census estimates that about 241 living Americans carry the first name Santia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Santia today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Santia births was 2002 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Santia. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
241
~ 1 in 1,422,217 Americans
Peak year
2002
16 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2007 SSA rank
#17,224
Tracked since 1956
Census
Santia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 454 people with the first name Santia, which placed it at #22,080 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#22,080
National first-name rank
People counted
454
454 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
46.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Santia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Santia is Hispanic at 46.7%. The next largest groups are Black (46.0%) and White (3.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Santia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Santia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino46.7% · 212
- Black or African American46.0% · 209
- White3.1% · 14
- Two or more races2.0% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 4
Popularity
Santia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Santia from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 91 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Santia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Santia by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Santia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Santia
The name Santia has its origins in the Latin language and culture. It is derived from the Latin word "sanctus," which means "holy" or "saint." This name was likely given to individuals in ancient times to honor their piety or religious devotion.
The earliest recorded use of the name Santia can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Europe. During this period, the name was often bestowed upon children who were born on or near religious feast days or festivals honoring saints. The name served as a reminder of the spiritual significance of these occasions.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Santia was Saint Santia of Piacenza, an Italian nun who lived in the 12th century. Her birthdate is unknown, but she is believed to have died around 1180 CE. Saint Santia was known for her charitable works and devotion to the poor.
In the 13th century, there was a notable figure named Santia de Rosselló, a Catalan noblewoman born in 1235 CE. She played a significant role in the political affairs of the Kingdom of Aragon and was an influential figure in her time.
During the Renaissance period, the name Santia gained popularity among artists and intellectuals. One such individual was Santia Botticelli, an Italian painter born in 1445 CE and renowned for her works such as "The Birth of Venus" and "Primavera." She passed away in 1510 CE.
In the 16th century, Santia López de Haro, a Spanish explorer and navigator, made significant contributions to the exploration of the Pacific Ocean. Born in 1520 CE, she led several expeditions and is credited with mapping parts of the western coast of North America. She died in 1597 CE.
Another notable bearer of the name Santia was the Italian physicist and astronomer Santia Galilei, born in 1564 CE. He is renowned for his groundbreaking work in observational astronomy and his support for the heliocentric model of the solar system. Galilei passed away in 1642 CE.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Santia. While the name has its roots in Latin and was particularly prevalent during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it has been used across various cultures and time periods, often reflecting a connection to religious or spiritual themes.
People
Santia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Santia as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Santia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Santia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 241 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Santia going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,422,217 US residents.
Is Santia a common name?
We classify Santia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 254 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Santia most popular?
The single biggest year for Santia was 2002, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Santia is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Santia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 454 people with the name Santia, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,080 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Santia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Santia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Santia leans strongly female. 451 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 9 male bearers (2.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Santia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Santia is Hispanic at 46.7%. The next largest groups are Black (46.0%) and White (3.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Santia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Santia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.7% (212 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Santia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Santia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Santia in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Santia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Santia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Santia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Santia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.