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Home › Baby Names Directory › Shawntay

Shawntay

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Shawntay

Pronounced shawn-TAY /ʃɔnˈteɪ/Medium

Meaning: Shawntay spells out the sound of Shante or Chante, names built on the French 'chante', 'sung' (past participle of 'chanter', to sing); the Shawn- opening reflects an English reading of that French syllable.Low

In 30 seconds: Shawntay is a phonetic English spelling of Chante - from French 'chante', 'sung' - recast with a Shawn- start (said 'shawn-TAY').
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Origin LowFrench, English
MeaningShawntay spells out the sound of Shante or Chante, names built on the French 'chante', 'sung' (past participle of 'chanter', to sing); the Shawn- opening reflects an English reading of that French syllable.
U.S. rank (2007)#17288 ↘ Falling
2007 U.S. births6 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1977
Total births (all-time)≈ 695

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 197819672007

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Shawntay writes out how English speakers say Chante, whose root is the French chante, 'sung'. Recasting it with the familiar Shawn sound and a -tay ending made it look and feel homegrown, part of a creative wave of coined names in the seventies.

It appears in American records mainly across the late nineteen-sixties through the two-thousands, cresting in the late seventies. As a stylish coinage of its moment it faded fairly quickly; a girl named Shawntay today is likely in her forties.

Did you know? Shawntay belongs to the invented, French-flavored girls' names that flourished in Black American communities in the 1970s; it stayed rare, peaking at only a few dozen girls a year around 1977.
Overall data confidence 50%
References - Shawntay — phonetic Chante; French 'chante' sung

Variations

ShanteChanteShauntay

Nicknames

ShawnTay

Famous Bearers

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If you like Shawntay…

Shante— the base name Shawntay sounds out, same French 'sung' root
Chante— the French spelling behind the sound, identical meaning
Shanice— another coined French-flavored girls' name of the era
Latoya— a like invented name from the same 1970s naming wave

Explore names like Shawntay

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Shawntay mean?

Shawntay is a phonetic spelling of Chante, from French 'chante', meaning 'sung'.

How do you pronounce Shawntay?

It's said shawn-TAY /ʃɔnˈteɪ/ - two syllables, stress on the second.

Is Shawntay a boy or girl name?

Shawntay is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Shawntay?

Shawntay has always been a rare, coined name in the U.S., most visible in the nineteen-seventies and eighties.

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