Ashanti - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ syll. as-han-ti, ash-a-nti ] The girl name Ashanti is also used as a boy name, though it is far more popular for girls. It is pronounced ah-SHaaNTiy ^KEY. Ashanti has its origins in the African language. It is used largely in African and English. Derived literally from the word Ashanti. The first name is taken from the tribal name of a major ethnic people in southern Ghana, who ruled a large empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. The name has often been adopted by Africans to show pride in their ancestry. In recent times, the name has been popularized by the American singer known as Ashanti (1980-).

Forms of Ashanti include the English names Asante, Ashanta, Ashante, Ashaunta, Ashuntae, and Shante.

Ashanti is somewhat popular as a baby girl name. The name has been growing in popularity since the 2000s. Its usage peaked in 2002 with 0.149% of baby girls being named Ashanti. It was #115 in rank then. In 2007, it ranked at #922 with a usage of 0.014%, and it was the most widely used among all girl names in its family.

Baby names that sound like Ashanti include the English Ashante, the German and Scandinavian Agneta, the German and Scandinavian Agnetha, the English Asante, the English and Hebrew Asenath, the English Ashanta, the English Ashaunta, the English Ashuntae, the Italian Assunta, the Spanish Azeneth, the German and Scandinavian Agnete, and the German Agnethe.

^KEY: approx pronunciation for Ashanti: AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; SH as in "she (SH.IY)" ; AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; T as in "tea (T.IY)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)"

A famous person named Ashanti is Ashanti, Singer, born Ashanti Shequoyia Douglas 13 October 1980, Glen Cove, New York.

Popularity Trend
for Ashanti
from 1900 to 2007

Variant Popularity Chart
for Ashanti
in 2007