Shantay
A feminine name of French origin meaning "peace" or "rest".
Name Census estimates that about 1,187 living Americans carry the first name Shantay. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shantay today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shantay births was 1987 (72 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shantay. 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 Shantay with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 288,757 Americans
Peak year
1987
72 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2011 SSA rank
#19,132
Tracked since 1961
Census
Shantay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,050 people with the first name Shantay, which placed it at #12,014 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
#12,014
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,050 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
75.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shantay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shantay is Black at 75.0%. The next largest groups are White (12.4%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Shantay 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 Shantay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.0% · 788
- White12.4% · 130
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 68
- Two or more races4.4% · 46
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 7
Popularity
Shantay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shantay from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 527 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shantay 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 Shantay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shantays live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, California recorded the most babies named Shantay, while Michigan, Maryland, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shantay
The name Shantay has its origins in the Hindi language, spoken primarily in India. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 10th to 12th centuries CE. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "शान्ति" (shanti), which means peace, tranquility, or calmness.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Shantay can be found in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts. It was often used as a name for individuals who were believed to possess a peaceful and serene demeanor or those who sought spiritual enlightenment and inner peace.
In the 14th century, there was a renowned Hindu philosopher and spiritual leader named Shantay Swami, who was revered for his teachings on the concept of "shanti" or peace. His teachings and writings had a significant influence on the spread and popularity of the name.
Another notable figure with the name Shantay was Shantay Devi, a 16th-century Indian poet and mystic. Her poetic works, which often explored themes of spirituality and the pursuit of inner peace, were widely acclaimed during her lifetime and continue to be studied today.
During the 18th century, Shantay Singh, a influential Rajput warrior and military leader, earned a reputation for his strategic prowess and his ability to maintain peace and order in the regions under his control. His name became synonymous with strength, valor, and a commitment to upholding justice.
In the 19th century, Shantay Kumari, a prominent social reformer and advocate for women's education, played a crucial role in establishing schools and educational institutions for girls in various parts of India. Her efforts to promote peace, equality, and empowerment through education earned her widespread acclaim.
Throughout history, the name Shantay has been associated with individuals who have embodied the values of peace, tranquility, and spiritual enlightenment. It has been carried by philosophers, poets, warriors, and social reformers, all of whom have left a lasting impact on their respective fields and societies.
People
Shantay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shantay 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
Shantay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shantay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,187 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shantay 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 288,757 US residents.
Is Shantay a common name?
We classify Shantay as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,270 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shantay most popular?
The single biggest year for Shantay was 1987, when 72 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shantay is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shantay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,050 people with the name Shantay, or 0.35 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,014 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 Shantay 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 Shantay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shantay leans strongly female. 1,027 people counted with this name were female (97.9%), compared with 22 male bearers (2.1%). 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 Shantay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shantay is Black at 75.0%. The next largest groups are White (12.4%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Shantay most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shantay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.0% (788 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 Shantay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shantay a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shantay 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 Shantay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shantay 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 Shantay 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 share the name Shantay?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.