Santa
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Meaning
“Spanish and Italian word for saint, from Latin sanctus, holy, used as a devotional given name”
How popular is Santa around the world?
In the United States, 74 babies were named Santa between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 17,650 people in Brazil were named Santa, ranked 1,152nd, with a median age of 67.
Santa is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Montevideo, Spain and Argentina.
United States
1 in 290,000
In the United States, 74 babies were named Santa between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Santa has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 11,000
At the 2022 census, 17,650 people in Brazil were named Santa, ranked 1,152nd, with a median age of 67.
Among people named Santa living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1950s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
1 in 25,0002011
In Montevideo, 1 girl named Santa was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Spain
1 in 35,000
In Spain, 1,287 residents are named Santa, ranked 1,267th among women, with a mean age of 63.6 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
1 in 330,000
In Argentina, 2 newborns were given the name Santa in 2024.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Chile
last on record 2019
Santa is not on the 2021 record for Chile, where nametree keeps the spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
England and Wales
last on record 2016
Santa is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Mexico City City
last on record 2021
Santa is not on the 2022 record for Mexico City, where small counts are withheld at source.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
South Australia
last on record 1974
Santa is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Santa
People given the name Santa in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Santa deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Santa truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Santa fits with your family’s names and surname.
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