Shauntell
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a combination of Shawn and Telle.
Name Census estimates that about 249 living Americans carry the first name Shauntell. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shauntell today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shauntell births was 1981 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shauntell. 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
249
~ 1 in 1,376,523 Americans
Peak year
1981
18 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1997 SSA rank
#13,454
Tracked since 1969
Census
Shauntell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 258 people with the first name Shauntell, which placed it at #32,555 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
#32,555
National first-name rank
People counted
258
258 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
69.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shauntell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shauntell is Black at 69.8%. The next largest groups are White (20.9%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Shauntell 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 Shauntell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.8% · 180
- White20.9% · 54
- Two or more races5.4% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Shauntell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shauntell from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 103 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Shauntell remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shauntell 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 Shauntell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shauntells live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shauntell
The name Shauntell is believed to have originated from the French language, derived from the Old French name Chantelle. Its roots can be traced back to the Latin word "cantare," which means "to sing." The name was initially popular in medieval France, particularly in the regions of Normandy and Burgundy.
During the Middle Ages, the name Shauntell was sometimes used as a nickname or diminutive form of other French names such as Chantal or Chantel. It was also influenced by the French word "chanter," which means "to sing or chant." This connection to music and singing may have contributed to the name's appeal and popularity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shauntell can be found in a 13th-century French text, where it was used as a feminine name. However, it was not until the 16th and 17th centuries that the name gained more widespread recognition and usage across various parts of Europe.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shauntell. One such person was Shauntell de Châtillon (1142-1203), a French noblewoman and the daughter of Renaud de Châtillon, a prominent crusader during the Third Crusade. Another was Shauntell de Valois (1316-1369), a French princess who was the daughter of Charles, Count of Valois.
In the realm of literature, Shauntell was the name of a character in the 18th-century French novel "Les Liaisons dangereuses" by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. This novel, which explored themes of seduction and betrayal, helped to further popularize the name in France and beyond.
Moving into the 20th century, Shauntell Hemingway (1898-1986) was an American writer and the fourth wife of the renowned author Ernest Hemingway. She played a significant role in preserving and promoting her husband's literary legacy after his death.
Another notable figure was Shauntell O'Hara (1923-2009), an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout her career. She was best known for her roles in musicals and her performances on the stage.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Shauntell throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence and cultural significance across various eras and regions.
People
Shauntell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shauntell 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
Shauntell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shauntell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 249 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shauntell 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 1,376,523 US residents.
Is Shauntell a common name?
We classify Shauntell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 266 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shauntell most popular?
The single biggest year for Shauntell was 1981, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shauntell is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shauntell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 258 people with the name Shauntell, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,555 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 Shauntell 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 Shauntell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shauntell leans strongly female. 248 people counted with this name were female (93.2%), compared with 18 male bearers (6.8%). 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 Shauntell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shauntell is Black at 69.8%. The next largest groups are White (20.9%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). 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 Shauntell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shauntell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.8% (180 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 Shauntell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shauntell a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shauntell 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 Shauntell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shauntell 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 Shauntell 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 Shauntell?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.