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