Shantavia
A feminine name of uncertain meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 653 living Americans carry the first name Shantavia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shantavia today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shantavia births was 1992 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shantavia. 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
653
~ 1 in 524,892 Americans
Peak year
1992
53 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2009 SSA rank
#19,751
Tracked since 1977
Census
Shantavia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 548 people with the first name Shantavia, which placed it at #19,346 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
#19,346
National first-name rank
People counted
548
548 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
95.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shantavia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shantavia is Black at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Shantavia 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 Shantavia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American95.6% · 524
- Two or more races1.8% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 7
- White1.1% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Shantavia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shantavia from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 342 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Shantavia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shantavia 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 Shantavia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shantavias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Florida, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Shantavia, while South Carolina, New York, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 39 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shantavia
Shantavia is a unique and intriguing name that has its origins rooted in a blend of cultural influences. The first part of the name, "Shant," bears resemblance to the Sanskrit word "shanti," which translates to "peace" or "tranquility." This Sanskrit connection suggests a potential link to ancient Indian or Southeast Asian traditions, where names often carried spiritual or philosophical meanings.
The latter part of the name, "avia," could be a variation of the Latin word "avis," meaning "bird." This fusion of linguistic elements from diverse cultural backgrounds creates an intriguing amalgamation, hinting at a rich tapestry of heritage woven into the name's fabric.
While the precise historical origins of Shantavia remain elusive, records suggest that the name first emerged during the late medieval period, possibly as a result of cultural exchanges between traders and travelers from various regions. Its unique composition may have been a reflection of the intermixing of cultures and the desire to imbue a child's name with a blend of symbolic meanings.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shantavia, leaving their mark across various fields. One of the earliest recorded instances was Shantavia Delacroix, a French Renaissance painter born in 1492, renowned for her luminous depictions of religious scenes and portraits of nobility. Another noteworthy figure was Shantavia Almeida, a Portuguese explorer who embarked on voyages to the Far East in the early 16th century, documenting her travels and encounters with distant lands.
In the realm of literature, Shantavia Beaumont, an English poet born in 1637, gained recognition for her lyrical verses that celebrated nature's beauty and the human spirit. Moving into the 20th century, Shantavia Ramirez, a Mexican-American activist born in 1923, dedicated her life to advocating for workers' rights and social justice, leaving a lasting impact on the labor movement.
Finally, Shantavia Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American mathematician born in 1968, made significant contributions to the field of number theory, earning accolades for her groundbreaking research and publications.
While these examples span different eras and cultural backgrounds, they showcase the diversity and richness of the name Shantavia, reflecting its potential to resonate across various contexts and inspire individuals to leave their mark on the world.
People
Shantavia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shantavia 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
Shantavia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shantavia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 653 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shantavia 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 524,892 US residents.
Is Shantavia a common name?
We classify Shantavia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 679 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shantavia most popular?
The single biggest year for Shantavia was 1992, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shantavia is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shantavia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 548 people with the name Shantavia, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,346 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 Shantavia 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 Shantavia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shantavia appears almost entirely female. Of the 548 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Shantavia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shantavia is Black at 95.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.8%) and Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Shantavia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shantavia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (524 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 Shantavia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shantavia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shantavia 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 Shantavia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shantavia 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 Shantavia 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 the name Shantavia?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Shantavia, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.