Shantrell
A feminine name derived from a French surname meaning "sweet songbird".
Name Census estimates that about 596 living Americans carry the first name Shantrell. It is a predominantly female name (98.4% of registrations). The average person named Shantrell today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shantrell births was 1985 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shantrell. 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
596
~ 1 in 575,091 Americans
Peak year
1985
36 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1997 SSA rank
#10,567
Tracked since 1969
Census
Shantrell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 479 people with the first name Shantrell, which placed it at #21,270 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
#21,270
National first-name rank
People counted
479
479 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
92.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shantrell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shantrell is Black at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and White (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 Shantrell 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 Shantrell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American92.5% · 443
- Two or more races3.5% · 17
- White1.9% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Shantrell
Shantrell leans heavily female at 98.4% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shantrell as a male name
- Ranked #10,567 in 1997
- 5 male births in 1997
- Peak: 1983 (5 births)
Shantrell as a female name
- Ranked #13,735 in 2007
- 8 female births in 2007
- Peak: 1985 (36 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shantrell leans strongly female. 451 people counted with this name were female (96.2%), compared with 18 male bearers (3.8%).
Popularity
Shantrell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shantrell from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 239 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
Shantrell 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 Shantrell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shantrells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Louisiana, Florida, Georgia recorded the most babies named Shantrell, while Georgia, Florida, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 75 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shantrell
The given name Shantrell is a relatively modern invention, believed to have originated in the United States during the 20th century. Its roots can be traced back to the French name Chantrell, which itself is derived from the Old French word "chanterelle," meaning "a small singing bird."
While the name Shantrell does not have any direct historical references or appearances in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its connection to the French word "chanterelle" suggests a possible association with the natural world and the beauty of birdsong. The name may have been created to evoke a sense of melodiousness and grace.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Shantrell date back to the mid-20th century in the United States. However, it did not gain widespread popularity until the latter half of the century. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Shantrell Elise, an American singer and songwriter born in 1972.
Throughout history, the name Shantrell has been borne by several notable individuals, though it remains relatively uncommon. One such person was Shantrell Natenelle, an American entrepreneur and business executive who co-founded the successful cosmetics company, Radiance Cosmetics, in the late 1990s.
Another notable Shantrell was Shantrell Renee Jackson, an American artist and painter known for her vibrant abstract expressionist works. Jackson's paintings have been exhibited in galleries across the United States and Europe, and her work is held in several prestigious collections.
In the realm of sports, Shantrell Williams was a standout basketball player who played professionally in the WNBA for the Detroit Shock from 2002 to 2006, winning two championship titles with the team.
Lastly, Shantrell Monique Davis was an American politician who served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1995 to 2019, representing the 27th district. She was known for her advocacy on issues related to education, healthcare, and social services.
While the name Shantrell may not have a long and storied history, its origins and associations with beauty, nature, and melody have contributed to its unique character and appeal in modern times.
People
Shantrell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shantrell 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
Shantrell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shantrell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 596 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shantrell 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 575,091 US residents.
Is Shantrell a common name?
We classify Shantrell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 630 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shantrell most popular?
The single biggest year for Shantrell was 1985, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shantrell is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shantrell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 479 people with the name Shantrell, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,270 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 Shantrell 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 Shantrell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shantrell leans strongly female. 451 people counted with this name were female (96.2%), compared with 18 male bearers (3.8%). 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 Shantrell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shantrell is Black at 92.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and White (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 Shantrell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shantrell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.5% (443 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 Shantrell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shantrell a female name?
Yes, 98.4% of people registered as Shantrell 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 Shantrell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shantrell 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 Shantrell 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 Shantrell?
Want to know how many Americans are named Shantrell? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.