Shantea
A feminine name derived from the French "Chanter" meaning "to sing".
Name Census estimates that about 204 living Americans carry the first name Shantea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shantea today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shantea births was 1991 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shantea. 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
204
~ 1 in 1,680,168 Americans
Peak year
1991
21 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1999 SSA rank
#16,482
Tracked since 1974
Census
Shantea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 193 people with the first name Shantea, which placed it at #39,252 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
#39,252
National first-name rank
People counted
193
193 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shantea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shantea is Black at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.7%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Shantea 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 Shantea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.9% · 158
- White6.7% · 13
- Two or more races5.7% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 3
Popularity
Shantea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shantea from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 99 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shantea 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 Shantea 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 Shantea
The name Shantea is a variant of the French name Chantée, which derives from the French verb "chanter" meaning "to sing." This name has its roots in the Latin word "cantare," also meaning "to sing." The name likely originated in France during the Middle Ages, a time when many names were derived from occupations, personal characteristics, or virtues.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shantea can be found in a 14th-century French manuscript, where it is mentioned as the name of a young woman who was known for her beautiful singing voice. This suggests that the name was initially given to individuals who possessed exceptional vocal talents or were associated with the art of music.
In the 16th century, there is a record of a famous French singer named Shantea de Lavalle, who performed at the court of King Francis I. Her exceptional vocal abilities and performances earned her widespread recognition and contributed to the popularity of the name during that era.
Another notable figure with the name Shantea was a 17th-century French composer and musician, Shantea Beaumont. She was renowned for her intricate compositions and innovative musical styles, which influenced the development of French baroque music.
During the 18th century, the name Shantea gained popularity beyond France, with records showing a Spanish noblewoman named Shantea de Castilla, who was known for her patronage of the arts and her love for music.
In the 19th century, the name Shantea was associated with a famous French opera singer, Shantea Delacroix, who captivated audiences with her powerful voice and emotive performances. Her legacy as one of the greatest sopranos of her time contributed to the enduring popularity of the name.
While the name Shantea has its origins in French culture and language, it has since been adopted and adapted in various parts of the world, reflecting the universal appeal of music and the arts. The name continues to carry the connotation of musicality, artistic expression, and a celebration of the beauty of the human voice.
People
Shantea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shantea 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
Shantea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shantea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 204 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shantea 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 1,680,168 US residents.
Is Shantea a common name?
We classify Shantea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 215 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shantea most popular?
The single biggest year for Shantea was 1991, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shantea is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shantea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 193 people with the name Shantea, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,252 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 Shantea 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 Shantea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shantea leans strongly female. 194 people counted with this name were female (97.0%), compared with 6 male bearers (3.0%). 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 Shantea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shantea is Black at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.7%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Shantea most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shantea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.9% (158 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 Shantea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shantea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shantea 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 Shantea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shantea 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 Shantea 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 people are named Shantea?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.