Lashanti
A feminine name of West African origin meaning "beautiful lady".
Name Census estimates that about 342 living Americans carry the first name Lashanti. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lashanti today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lashanti births was 2002 (108 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lashanti. 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
342
~ 1 in 1,002,206 Americans
Peak year
2002
108 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2013 SSA rank
#11,532
Tracked since 1979
Census
Lashanti in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 309 people with the first name Lashanti, which placed it at #28,877 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
#28,877
National first-name rank
People counted
309
309 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lashanti
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lashanti is Black at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Lashanti 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 Lashanti at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.6% · 283
- Two or more races3.9% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 5
- White1.0% · 3
Popularity
Lashanti: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lashanti from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 287 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lashanti 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 Lashanti during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lashantis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Georgia, Florida, Illinois recorded the most babies named Lashanti, while South Carolina, North Carolina, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lashanti
The name Lashanti has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that emerged in the Indian subcontinent around the 2nd millennium BCE. The name is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit words "lasya," meaning grace or charm, and "anti," meaning end or boundary, suggesting a possible interpretation of "boundless grace" or "infinite charm."
In ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, the name Lashanti is associated with feminine energy, beauty, and elegance. It is mentioned in some verses of the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, as a name bestowed upon celestial nymphs or apsaras, who were renowned for their captivating beauty and grace.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Lashanti can be found in the epic poem Ramayana, which dates back to around the 7th century BCE. In this ancient Sanskrit literature, Lashanti is mentioned as the name of a celestial dancer who performed for the gods and was celebrated for her enchanting movements and divine beauty.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Lashanti. One such person was Lashanti Debi (1909-1988), a renowned Bengali singer and exponent of Rabindra Sangeet, the songs and poetry composed by the legendary poet Rabindranath Tagore. Her melodious renditions and deep understanding of Tagore's works earned her widespread acclaim and reverence.
Another famous Lashanti was Lashanti Mitra (1926-2019), a celebrated Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She was a pioneer in the revival and promotion of the Kathak dance form, and her contributions to the art were recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors.
In the 16th century, Lashanti Devi was a revered mystic and poet from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. Her devotional songs, known as "Lashanti Sangeet," were widely popular and celebrated for their spiritual depth and poetic beauty.
During the 18th century, Lashanti Bai was a renowned Indian classical vocalist and courtesan from the city of Lucknow. She was a prominent figure in the Nawabi culture of the time and was renowned for her mastery of the Thumri and Dadra genres of Hindustani classical music.
In the realm of literature, Lashanti Raha (1925-2008) was a celebrated Bengali writer and poet. Her works, which explored themes of feminism, social justice, and human emotions, won her numerous accolades, including the prestigious Ananda Purashkar, one of the highest literary honors in Bengal.
People
Lashanti + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lashanti as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lashanti: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lashanti?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 342 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lashanti 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 1,002,206 US residents.
Is Lashanti a common name?
We classify Lashanti as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 349 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lashanti most popular?
The single biggest year for Lashanti was 2002, when 108 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lashanti is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lashanti in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 309 people with the name Lashanti, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,877 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 Lashanti 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 Lashanti?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lashanti leans strongly female. 312 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Lashanti?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lashanti is Black at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Lashanti most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lashanti in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (283 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 Lashanti in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lashanti a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lashanti 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 Lashanti still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lashanti 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 Lashanti 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 Lashanti?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.