Shanta
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Meaning
“Part of a 1970s wave of African American coined names; not a direct borrowing, though it echoes Sanskrit shanti, peace.”
How popular is Shanta around the world?
In the United States, Shanta is not on the Social Security record for 2020 to 2025: names under 5 in a year are withheld at source. Shanta is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
United States
under 5 a year
In the United States, Shanta is not on the Social Security record for 2020 to 2025: names under 5 in a year are withheld at source.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Shanta peaked in the 1970s and the 1980s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
last on record 1997
Shanta 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
Montevideo City
last on record 1975
Shanta is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, 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 Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the South Australia record for 1944 to 2017: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. 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 Shanta
Most people given the name Shanta in the United States were born between 1970 and 1989. The Shanta you meet today is most often in her 30s or 40s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Shanta deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Shanta 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 Shanta fits with your family’s names and surname.
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