Santa: Name Meaning, Origin & Popularity

At a Glance: Name: Santa – Meaning: holy one, saint (feminine of santo) – Origin: Italian (also a Latvian given name) – Gender: Girl – Pronunciation: SAHN-tuh


Santa is an Italian (also a Latvian given name) girl's name meaning “holy one, saint (feminine of santo)”. It appears in our list of Baby Names That Mean Peace or Calm.

Meaning & Origin of Santa

Meaning: Holy one, saint (feminine of santo).

Origin: Italian (also a Latvian given name).

A common claim: Santa means 'calm, serene, peaceful' (claimed Sanskrit origin) Actually: Santa is not Sanskrit and doesn't mean 'calm' or 'peaceful' -- it's the Italian feminine form of 'santo' ('holy, saint'), probably confused with the similar-sounding Sanskrit word 'shanti' ('peace').

Source: Wiktionary, Wikipedia.

How to Pronounce Santa

Phonetic: SAHN-tuh   IPA: /ˈsɑːntə/

Popularity of Santa

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration birth-name data, 1896–2024.

Lists That Include Santa

Similar Names

Nirmal · Saumya · Aman · Prashant · Shantipriya · Prasanthi

More Baby Name Inspiration