How Many People Are Named Shanta?
An estimated 4,866 people in the United States have the first name Shanta. It is predominantly female (97.3%). The average bearer is 44 years old, and Shanta peaked in popularity in 1978 with 378 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Shanta as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Shanta paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Shanta is overwhelmingly female, 142 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
4,866
About 1 in 70,439 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
97.3% confidence
Average Age
44
years old
Peak Year
1978
378 births
Total Registered
5,254
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Shanta
Shanta is predominantly female (97.3%), though 142 male births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Shanta as a male name
Ranked #7,755 in 1989
6 male births in 1989
Peak: 1978 (18 births)
Shanta as a female name
Ranked #18,819 in 2014
5 female births in 2014
Peak: 1978 (360 births)
Shanta: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Shanta span from the 1950s to the 2010s, covering 7 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 2,077 babies were registered. Shanta has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Shanta by Decade
How has Shanta tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Shanta by State
Birth registrations for Shanta span all 25 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Illinois, New York. The lowest are in Washington, Kentucky, Wisconsin. On average, about 152 Shantas were registered per state.
Shanta + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Shanta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Shanta
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Shanta: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shanta?
We estimate approximately 4,866 people named Shanta are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 70,439 Americans share this first name.
Is Shanta a common name?
Shanta is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 5,254 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Shanta most popular?
Shanta reached peak popularity in 1978, when 378 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Shanta is approximately 44 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Shanta a female name?
Shanta is predominantly female. 97.3% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Shanta Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Shanta Smith, Shanta Johnson, Shanta Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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