Ashonte
A feminine name of uncertain origin, potentially derived from African languages.
Name Census estimates that about 105 living Americans carry the first name Ashonte. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ashonte today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ashonte births was 2002 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ashonte. 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
105
~ 1 in 3,264,327 Americans
Peak year
2002
16 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2003 SSA rank
#14,063
Tracked since 1989
Census
Ashonte in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 159 people with the first name Ashonte, which placed it at #43,953 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
#43,953
National first-name rank
People counted
159
159 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ashonte
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ashonte is Black at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and White (2.5%). 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 Ashonte 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 Ashonte at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.2% · 137
- Two or more races6.9% · 11
- White2.5% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Popularity
Ashonte: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ashonte from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 61 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Ashonte remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ashonte 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 Ashonte 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 Ashonte
The name Ashonte has its origins rooted in the Yoruba language, spoken by the Yoruba people of West Africa, primarily in modern-day Nigeria. The name likely emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th to 15th centuries, when the Yoruba kingdoms and empires flourished.
Ashonte is derived from the Yoruba words "Ashọ̀" and "Ọntè," which together translate to "the cloth weaver" or "the cloth maker." This suggests that the name may have been initially bestowed upon those involved in the craft of textile production, a significant aspect of Yoruba culture and trade.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its linguistic roots can be traced back to the rich cultural heritage of the Yoruba people. The earliest documented instances of the name Ashonte are found in historical records from the 17th and 18th centuries, during the height of the transatlantic slave trade.
One notable figure bearing the name Ashonte was a Yoruba chief from the Egba region, who lived in the late 18th century. He was known for his leadership and diplomacy during a period of conflict between the Egba and the Oyo Empire. Another Ashonte of historical significance was a freed slave from the United States, born in the late 18th century, who became a successful entrepreneur and advocate for the abolition of slavery.
In the 19th century, Ashonte Sankofa was a renowned Yoruba storyteller and historian, who dedicated her life to preserving and sharing the oral traditions and cultural heritage of her people. Her name, which means "to go back and fetch it," reflected her commitment to keeping the past alive.
During the 20th century, Ashonte Bakari was a prominent Tanzanian activist and politician, born in 1923, who fought for the independence of her country from British colonial rule. She was recognized for her tireless efforts in promoting women's rights and empowerment.
Another notable figure was Ashonte Kumalo, a South African artist and sculptor born in 1935, whose works celebrated the resilience and strength of the African spirit. His sculptures can be found in various public spaces and museums across the continent.
People
Ashonte + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ashonte as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ashonte: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ashonte?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 105 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ashonte 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 3,264,327 US residents.
Is Ashonte a common name?
We classify Ashonte as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 108 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ashonte most popular?
The single biggest year for Ashonte was 2002, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ashonte is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ashonte in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 159 people with the name Ashonte, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,953 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 Ashonte 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 Ashonte?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ashonte leans strongly female. 135 people counted with this name were female (85.4%), compared with 23 male bearers (14.6%). 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 Ashonte?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ashonte is Black at 86.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and White (2.5%). 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 Ashonte most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ashonte in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.2% (137 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 Ashonte in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ashonte a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ashonte 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 Ashonte still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ashonte 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 Ashonte 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 common is the name Ashonte?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.