The modern name Shawntel, which emerged in the U.S. baby name data during the 1960s, saw a spike in usage in the mid-1990s:
- 1997: 33 baby girls named Shawntel
- 1996: 54 baby girls named Shawntel
- 1995: 63 baby girls named Shawntel (peak usage)
- 1994: 29 baby girls named Shawntel
- 1993: 35 baby girls named Shawntel
Why?
Because of beauty queen Shawntel Smith, who was crowned Miss America 1996 on her 24th birthday — September 16, 1995.
Shawntel represented the state of Oklahoma, and her pageant platform was “school-to-work education,” which had to do with preparing students to enter the job market.
For the talent portion of the competition, she sang Barbra Streisand’s “The Woman in the Moon” from the 1976 version of the movie A Star is Born.
Shawntel, whose birth name was LaCricia Shawntel Smith, was the second-ever red-headed Miss America. (The first was Venus Ramey, Miss America 1944.)
What are your thoughts on the name Shawntel? (Do you like this spelling, or do you prefer Chantel?)
P.S. The section of US-64 that runs through Shawntel’s hometown of Muldrow is now called Shawntel Smith Boulveard.
Sources:
- Shawntel Smith – Wikipedia
- Curran, John. “An Oklahoma girl earns the crown as Miss America.” Napa Valley Register 18 Sept. 1995: 8C.
- Miss America 1996 – Wikipedia
- SSA
Images: Screenshots of the TV broadcast of the 69th Miss America pageant
It was inspiring because the Oklahoma City Bombing had been just 5 months earlier. It was a very emotional win for her and her state. I think Shantel is pretty and gets the pronunciation right (rather than Chantel).
Miss America has had an undeniable influence on baby names. It would be interesting to know if Shawntel pursued the goal of “school to work” education. I wonder if she went into the field of education.
More than 26,000 girls were named Chantal in 1970’s and 1980’s, making it a solid top 10 name during those years.
Unfortunately alternative spellings, like Chantalle (circa 700 name carriers), Chantel (150 girls), Chantelle, Chantall, Chantale, Chanthal, Shantal, Chantell, etc etc, and Shawntel (1 name carrier, influenced by Shawntel Smith?) are considered borderline trashy.
PS In Germany Kevin & Chantal are token “trashy” names. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevinismus
PPS Shawntel Smith’s four sons with Ryan Wuerch (they all carry his last name) are named Braden, Barrett, Brennan, and Bryson.
@Emma – Thank you for all that data! And for tracking down the names of their sons. :)
@Anne Valentine – Thank you for bringing that up! I didn’t even make the connection between Shawntel’s win and the Oklahoma City bombing as I was writing this post. Crazy.
P.S. Last year I wrote about how the Oklahoma City bombing affected the usage of the baby name Baylee…