Ashanti
Masculine
Ashanti is given to both — 767 boys and 12,576 girls since 1880. See Ashanti as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Ashanti is the name of a people, a region of Ghana and a kingdom that is still there, and it is recorded here for boys and girls alike. Among the things that kingdom is known for is a cloth in which every pattern carries a saying.
How old is the name Ashanti?
Ashanti first appears in US birth records in 1970 — 55 years ago. The typical Ashanti alive today was born around 1990, making them about 35 years old. About 700 people named Ashanti are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ashanti most popular?
Ashanti peaked in 1979, reaching #1487 nationally. See the whole 1979 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Ashanti
Kente is woven in narrow strips on a loom and sewn edge to edge, and the patterns are not decorative abstractions: each one has a name, and the names carry proverbs. There are cloths meaning that one person does not rule a nation, that knowledge is not the property of one head, that the family is a force. Certain patterns were reserved for royalty and could not be worn by anybody else. The weaving is a recognized craft with named masters, the designs are recorded and taught, and a person who knows the vocabulary can read a room at a ceremony. It is a written language that happens to be made of silk and cotton.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The name belongs to a people and their language and is not a personal name in that tradition. What an American family intended by it, and whether they meant the region, the people or the sound, is not recorded.
Pronouncing Ashanti
uh-SHAHN-tee
Three syllables with the weight in the middle. The people's own spelling is Asante, without the h, and is said the same way.
Nicknames for Ashanti
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1970
- Most boys named
- 197940 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1487reached in 1979
- Change vs 2015
- 0.0%5 in 2019, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ashantis among us
people named Ashanti are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Ashanti sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The stress is unmistakable, so it is rarely mispronounced on a first reading.
- Ash and Shanti are both available as short forms and both work on their own.
- It points at a real place with a documented history that a child can go and read.
- It is the name of a living people rather than a personal name in that tradition, which is worth knowing and being able to explain.
- Asante is the spelling used in Ghana, so this version will be adjusted by anybody who knows.
- One American singer has owned the name in the public mind for a generation.
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Ashanti
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Ashantis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Ashanti are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ashanti in 2025?
- Ashanti is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Ashanti with classmates?
- Ashanti will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More A names
The most-given names starting with A, all years combined.
Anthony#46 · Andrew#73 · Alexander#30 · Aaron#80 · Adam#101 · Arthur#87 · Albert#614 · Austin#113
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ashanti? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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