Shontae
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of Shawnta.
Name Census estimates that about 801 living Americans carry the first name Shontae. It is a predominantly female name (98.8% of registrations). The average person named Shontae today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shontae births was 1985 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shontae. 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 Shontae with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
801
~ 1 in 427,908 Americans
Peak year
1985
54 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1981 SSA rank
#7,124
Tracked since 1969
Census
Shontae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 678 people with the first name Shontae, which placed it at #16,581 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
#16,581
National first-name rank
People counted
678
678 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shontae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shontae is Black at 85.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Shontae 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 Shontae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.8% · 582
- White5.8% · 39
- Two or more races4.3% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Shontae
Shontae leans heavily female at 98.8% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shontae as a male name
- Ranked #7,124 in 1981
- 5 male births in 1981
- Peak: 1973 (5 births)
Shontae as a female name
- Ranked #14,762 in 2012
- 7 female births in 2012
- Peak: 1985 (54 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shontae leans strongly female. 653 people counted with this name were female (95.3%), compared with 32 male bearers (4.7%).
Popularity
Shontae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shontae 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 361 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
Shontae 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 Shontae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shontaes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Florida, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Shontae, while Virginia, Texas, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shontae
The name Shontae is of African-American origin and is believed to have emerged in the late 20th century. It is a blend of the names Shonda and Tae, which are both derived from various African languages. The name Shonda is a variation of the Swahili name Ashonda, meaning "to walk with pride," while Tae is a diminutive form of the name Tia, meaning "aunt" in various West African languages.
The earliest recorded use of the name Shontae dates back to the 1970s, when it began to gain popularity among African-American communities in the United States. However, it is worth noting that the name does not have any known historical references or connections to ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records.
One of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name Shontae was Shontae Blanche, an American actress and model born in 1983. She is best known for her roles in the films "Honey" and "Lockdown."
Another prominent figure with the name Shontae is Shontae Vaughan, an American basketball player who played for the University of Southern California and later pursued a professional career in the WNBA and overseas.
In the world of music, Shontae Monique is an American singer and songwriter who rose to prominence in the early 2000s with her hit single "Spin Around." She has released several albums and has collaborated with various artists in the R&B and hip-hop genres.
Shontae Johnson is an American activist and community organizer who has been actively involved in various social justice movements, particularly advocating for the rights of marginalized communities.
Lastly, Shontae Pruitt is an American author and motivational speaker who has written several books on personal development and self-empowerment. She is known for her inspirational workshops and seminars aimed at empowering individuals to achieve their goals and live their best lives.
People
Shontae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shontae 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
Shontae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shontae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 801 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shontae 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 427,908 US residents.
Is Shontae a common name?
We classify Shontae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 852 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shontae most popular?
The single biggest year for Shontae was 1985, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shontae 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 Shontae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 678 people with the name Shontae, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,581 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 Shontae 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 Shontae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shontae leans strongly female. 653 people counted with this name were female (95.3%), compared with 32 male bearers (4.7%). 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 Shontae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shontae is Black at 85.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Shontae most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shontae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (582 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 Shontae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shontae a female name?
Yes, 98.8% of people registered as Shontae 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 Shontae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shontae 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 Shontae 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 Shontae?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.