Santanna
A feminine Portuguese name combining the elements santa (meaning "saint") and Ana (a form of Hannah, meaning "grace").
Name Census estimates that about 923 living Americans carry the first name Santanna. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Santanna today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Santanna births was 1986 (74 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Santanna. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Santanna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
923
~ 1 in 371,348 Americans
Peak year
1986
74 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,063
Tracked since 1984
Census
Santanna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 717 people with the first name Santanna, which placed it at #15,898 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
#15,898
National first-name rank
People counted
717
717 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
41.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Santanna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Santanna is Black at 41.1%. The next largest groups are White (34.4%) and Hispanic (14.4%). 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 Santanna 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 Santanna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American41.1% · 295
- White34.4% · 247
- Hispanic or Latino14.4% · 103
- Two or more races6.6% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.2% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Santanna
Santanna leans heavily female at 89.0% of total registrations, but 105 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Santanna as a male name
- Ranked #12,063 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (12 births)
Santanna as a female name
- Ranked #12,065 in 2022
- 8 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1986 (69 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Santanna leans strongly female. 620 people counted with this name were female (86.8%), compared with 94 male bearers (13.2%).
Popularity
Santanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Santanna from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 313 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Santanna 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 Santanna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Santannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama recorded the most babies named Santanna, while Virginia, Ohio, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Santanna
The name Santanna has its origins in the Portuguese and Spanish languages, with roots dating back to the late 15th century. It is a combination of the words "santa" meaning "saint" and "anna" referring to the biblical figure of Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary. The name was initially popular in regions with strong Catholic influences, particularly in Portugal, Spain, and their former colonies.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Santanna can be found in the 16th century Portuguese literature, where it appeared as a reference to Saint Anne, the patron saint of mothers and pregnant women. The name gained popularity among Catholic families who sought to honor the revered saint and her maternal role.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Santanna. One such figure was Santanna de Jesus (1617-1677), a Portuguese nun and mystic known for her spiritual writings and her devotion to the Eucharist. Another prominent figure was Santanna Samitier (1886-1965), a Spanish anarchist and trade unionist who played a significant role in the Spanish Civil War.
In Brazil, the name Santanna was associated with historical figures such as Antônio Luís Patrício da Silva Manso, Visconde de Santanna (1808-1868), a Brazilian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Empire of Brazil. Additionally, Joaquim José Inácio, Visconde de Inhaúma (1809-1869), a Brazilian naval officer and politician, was also known by the name Santanna.
Another notable individual was Santanna Díaz (1898-1952), a Mexican military officer and politician who served as the Secretary of National Defense and later as the Governor of the state of Oaxaca in Mexico.
While the name Santanna has its roots in the Catholic tradition, it has transcended religious boundaries and has been adopted by families from diverse cultural backgrounds, particularly in regions with historical ties to Portugal, Spain, and their former colonies.
People
Santanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Santanna 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
Santanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Santanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 923 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Santanna 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 371,348 US residents.
Is Santanna a common name?
We classify Santanna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 952 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Santanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Santanna was 1986, when 74 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Santanna 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 Santanna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 717 people with the name Santanna, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,898 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 Santanna 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 Santanna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Santanna leans strongly female. 620 people counted with this name were female (86.8%), compared with 94 male bearers (13.2%). 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 Santanna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Santanna is Black at 41.1%. The next largest groups are White (34.4%) and Hispanic (14.4%). 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 Santanna most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Santanna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.1% (295 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 Santanna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Santanna a female name?
Yes, 89.0% of people registered as Santanna 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 Santanna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Santanna 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 Santanna 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 have Santanna as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.