Santana
A Spanish place name meaning "Saint Anne".
Name Census estimates that about 12,912 living Americans carry the first name Santana. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 56.2% of registrations being male. The average person named Santana today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Santana births was 2020 (653 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Santana. 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.
Key insights
- • Santana sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
13K
~ 1 in 26,545 Americans
Peak year
2020
653 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#811
Tracked since 1910
Gender
Gender distribution for Santana
Santana is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 13,343 total registrations, 7,494 (56.2%) were male and 5,849 (43.8%) were female.
Santana as a male name
- Ranked #811 in 2024
- 309 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (522 births)
Santana as a female name
- Ranked #1,872 in 2024
- 107 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1985 (385 births)
Popularity
Santana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Santana from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,368 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
Santana 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 Santana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Santanas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Santana, while South Dakota, Iowa, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 227 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Santana
The given name Santana has its origins in the Spanish language and culture. It is derived from the Latin word "sanctus," meaning "holy" or "saint." The name is closely associated with the religious and spiritual traditions of Spain and Latin America.
Santana is believed to have been initially used as a surname, referring to individuals who lived near or were associated with a church dedicated to a particular saint. Over time, it transitioned into a given name, especially popular among Catholic communities in Spain and its former colonies.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Santana can be found in the 12th century, when it appeared in medieval Spanish records and documents. It is believed that the name gained popularity during the era of Spanish exploration and colonization of the Americas, as it was often given to children born in the New World.
Historically, the name Santana has been borne by several notable figures. One such figure is Santana de Lara, a 13th-century Spanish nobleman and military leader who played a significant role in the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.
Another prominent individual with the name Santana was the Mexican singer and songwriter Carlos Santana, born in 1947. He is renowned for his influential contributions to Latin rock and his distinctive guitar playing style. His music has transcended cultural boundaries and garnered him numerous awards and accolades.
In the realm of literature, the name Santana is associated with the Brazilian writer and journalist Rachel de Queiroz (1910-2003), who was best known for her novel "O Quinze" and her contributions to the Brazilian Regionalist literary movement.
The name Santana has also been used by several religious figures, including Saint Santana Vieira (1829-1899), a Portuguese nun and founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Mary, and Santana Maria Cabriada (1822-1888), a Spanish nun and founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Divine Shepherdess.
Another notable figure with the name Santana is the Mexican artist and sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), whose full name was Isamu Noguchi Santana. He was renowned for his sculptures, public artworks, and contributions to the fields of landscape architecture and furniture design.
While the name Santana has its roots in the Spanish and Latin American cultures, it has gained popularity in various parts of the world due to the influence of these cultures and the global reach of individuals bearing this name.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Santana
People
Santana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Santana 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
Santana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Santana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12,912 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Santana 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 26,545 US residents.
Is Santana a common name?
We classify Santana as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,343 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Santana most popular?
The single biggest year for Santana was 2020, when 653 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Santana is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Santana a male name?
Yes, 56.2% of people registered as Santana in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.