How popular is the baby name Shawntel in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Shawntel.

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Popularity of the baby name Shawntel


Posts that mention the name Shawntel

Where did the baby name Leanza come from in 1992?

Leanza Cornett, Miss America 1993
Leanza Cornett

The rare name Leanza first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1992. It reached peak usage the very next year.

  • 1994: 15 baby girls named Leanza
  • 1993: 17 baby girls named Leanza
  • 1992: 8 baby girls named Leanza [debut]
  • 1991: unlisted
  • 1990: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Beauty queen Leanza Cornett, who was crowned Miss America 1993 in September of 1992.

The first Floridian to win the title, Leanza performed the song “A New Life” from the 1990 musical Jekyll & Hyde for the talent portion of the competition.

Her pageant platform was AIDS awareness.

Leanza Cornett, Miss America 1993
Leanza Cornett

She pronounced her name lee-AN-zah — middle syllable like the name Anne. Despite this, pageant co-host Kathie Lee Gifford mispronounced it lee-AHN-zah multiple times during the broadcast.

Leanza’s full name at birth was Eva Leanza Cornett. Like previous Miss America winner Kylene, and future Miss America winner Shawntel, she chose to go by her middle name.

What are your thoughts on the name Leanza? How would you pronounce it?

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of the TV broadcast of the 66th Miss America pageant

What gave the baby name Shawntel a boost in 1995?

Shawntel Smith, Miss America 1996
Shawntel Smith

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 Smith, Miss America 1996
Shawntel Smith

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:

Images: Screenshots of the TV broadcast of the 69th Miss America pageant