Shuntae
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly related to Chinese elements.
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the first name Shuntae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shuntae today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shuntae births was 1992 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shuntae. 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
136
~ 1 in 2,520,252 Americans
Peak year
1992
11 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1999 SSA rank
#16,549
Tracked since 1976
Census
Shuntae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 186 people with the first name Shuntae, which placed it at #40,168 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
#40,168
National first-name rank
People counted
186
186 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shuntae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shuntae is Black at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Shuntae 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 Shuntae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.8% · 167
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 7
- Two or more races3.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 4
- White1.1% · 2
Popularity
Shuntae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shuntae from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 70 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Shuntae remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shuntae 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 Shuntae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shuntae
The name Shuntae has its roots in the African-American community, originating in the late 20th century as a creative and unique name blend. It is thought to be a combination of the names Shun and Tae, with the former possibly derived from the French word "shun" meaning "to avoid or ignore," and the latter a common diminutive of names like Taeya or Tatiana.
While there are no definitive historical references or ancient texts mentioning the name Shuntae, its emergence is reflective of the cultural and linguistic diversity within the African-American community during the latter part of the 20th century. It represents a period of increased creativity and personalization in naming practices, as parents sought to give their children distinctive and meaningful names.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Shuntae can be found in the birth records of the United States from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Although relatively uncommon, the name has been used by a handful of notable individuals throughout history.
Shuntae Arrington (born 1986) is an American basketball player who played for the University of Tennessee and later pursued a professional career in Europe. Shuntae McGriff (born 1984) is an American actress and model, known for her roles in films such as "Obsessed" and "A Delta Daze."
Shuntae Gavan (born 1981) is a Canadian singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a contestant on the reality show "Canadian Idol" in 2003. Shuntae Hunter (born 1978) is an American entrepreneur and motivational speaker, known for her work empowering women and promoting financial literacy.
Shuntae Pruitt (born 1975) is an American author and advocate for mental health awareness, having written several books about her personal journey with depression and anxiety.
It is worth noting that these individuals represent a diverse range of professions and backgrounds, further exemplifying the uniqueness and versatility of the name Shuntae.
People
Shuntae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shuntae 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
Shuntae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shuntae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 136 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shuntae 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 2,520,252 US residents.
Is Shuntae a common name?
We classify Shuntae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 144 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shuntae most popular?
The single biggest year for Shuntae was 1992, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shuntae 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 Shuntae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 186 people with the name Shuntae, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,168 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 Shuntae 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 Shuntae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shuntae leans strongly female. 162 people counted with this name were female (90.0%), compared with 18 male bearers (10.0%). 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 Shuntae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shuntae is Black at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Shuntae most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shuntae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (167 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 Shuntae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shuntae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shuntae 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 Shuntae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shuntae 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 Shuntae 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 have Shuntae as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.