Shauntel
A feminine name derived from the French Chantal, meaning "stone".
Name Census estimates that about 869 living Americans carry the first name Shauntel. It is a predominantly female name (98.9% of registrations). The average person named Shauntel today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shauntel births was 1983 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shauntel. 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
869
~ 1 in 394,424 Americans
Peak year
1983
42 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1980 SSA rank
#7,134
Tracked since 1968
Census
Shauntel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 821 people with the first name Shauntel, which placed it at #14,378 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
#14,378
National first-name rank
People counted
821
821 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shauntel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shauntel is Black at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (23.6%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Shauntel 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 Shauntel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.7% · 490
- White23.6% · 194
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 57
- Two or more races6.3% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Shauntel
Shauntel leans heavily female at 98.9% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shauntel as a male name
- Ranked #7,134 in 1980
- 5 male births in 1980
- Peak: 1979 (5 births)
Shauntel as a female name
- Ranked #18,726 in 2015
- 5 female births in 2015
- Peak: 1983 (42 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shauntel leans strongly female. 778 people counted with this name were female (95.5%), compared with 37 male bearers (4.5%).
Popularity
Shauntel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shauntel 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 336 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
Shauntel 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 Shauntel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shauntels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Louisiana, New York recorded the most babies named Shauntel, while Texas, Tennessee, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shauntel
The name Shauntel is a relatively modern variation of the traditional French name Chantal. It is believed to have originated in the late 20th century, likely in English-speaking countries such as the United States or the United Kingdom.
The name Chantal itself is derived from the Latin word "cantus," which means "song" or "chant." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to individuals with a melodious voice or a talent for singing. Alternatively, it could also be related to the word "candid," meaning pure or sincere.
While the name Shauntel does not have a long historical lineage, its roots can be traced back to the medieval period in France. The earliest recorded instance of the name Chantal dates back to the 12th century, when it was used as a surname.
As for notable individuals with the name Shauntel, one of the earliest examples is Shauntel Renée Smith, an American actress born in 1981. She is best known for her roles in television shows such as "The Parkers" and "Boston Legal."
Another noteworthy figure is Shauntel Lowe, an American professional basketball player born in 1983. She played in the WNBA for several teams, including the San Antonio Silver Stars and the Washington Mystics.
In the literary world, Shauntel Colón is a Puerto Rican author and poet born in 1975. She has published several works, including the poetry collection "Ante la Insólita Vida Resplandeciente" (In the Face of the Resplendent, Unusual Life).
Moving to the realm of music, Shauntel Gittens is a Trinidadian singer and songwriter born in 1986. She has released several successful albums and has been recognized with various awards in the Caribbean music industry.
Finally, Shauntel Day is an American model and television personality born in 1985. She gained recognition for her appearances on reality shows such as "The Bachelor" and "Bachelor in Paradise."
While the name Shauntel may not have an extensive historical record, its modern usage highlights its growing popularity and versatility across various fields and cultures.
People
Shauntel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shauntel 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
Shauntel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shauntel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 869 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shauntel 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 394,424 US residents.
Is Shauntel a common name?
We classify Shauntel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 923 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shauntel most popular?
The single biggest year for Shauntel was 1983, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shauntel is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shauntel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 821 people with the name Shauntel, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,378 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 Shauntel 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 Shauntel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shauntel leans strongly female. 778 people counted with this name were female (95.5%), compared with 37 male bearers (4.5%). 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 Shauntel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shauntel is Black at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (23.6%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Shauntel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shauntel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (490 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 Shauntel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shauntel a female name?
Yes, 98.9% of people registered as Shauntel 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 Shauntel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shauntel 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 Shauntel 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 common is the name Shauntel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.