Not everybody calls Santa Claus "Santa". Sure, this is what he is called in the US, but NOT EVERYONE IN THE WORLD IS AMERICAN. This name is perfectly acceptable in a country that calls him something else, of which there are many. It's lovely and does not deserve the disrespect that it's getting.
I understand it as a name because it means saint and is very Catholic, but in English speaking countries, as you can see from all the comments, it will be associated with Santa Claus, the fat old dude with all the coal and presents.
Santa may sound like a terrible idea in the English speaking countries but it is actually a rather common modern feminine name in Lithuania.
― Anonymous User 3/29/2020
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I don't like it as a name unless it is paired with the name of a Saint, for example Santa Rosa, and that naming a kid Saint is conceited and what if the kid turns out to be an atheist or something? But if Santo (which is usually San) can be used, why not Santa?
Santa is the feminine form of Santo -- a long-used Spanish first name for men. I'd find it unusual to meet someone named Santa, male or female, unless a Punjabi (Sikh) male, where the name is actually fairly common.I'm having trouble finding out the Punjabi etymology, though.Anybody know?Those languages of Latin origins obviously use it to mean Holy (technically means "distinctive," not necessarily of higher moral character.)
Santa Jeremy Ono is a Canadian-American biologist and university administrator. Serving as a faculty member of Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, and University College London, he made key contributions to the field of gene regulation in the immune system and to the understanding of inflammation in the eye. Ono served as the 28th President of the University of Cincinnati and is currently the 15th President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia.
Pairs up nicely with a lot of names, such as "Santa Maria", "Santa Jane", "Santa Louise", "Santa Anita"... When pronounced right, as it should be "Sahn-tah", it sort of draws attention away from the familiar "Santa Claus" character.
Having this name in America would be hell. Having this name in Spanish-speaking countries or any countries where this means 'holy' would be hell. Even in Finland, this is an old word for 'sand', and would thus be hell to have. Whereever people know the word 'Santa' to have the meaning 'holy', this is going to be hell to have. So why use the ridiculous name?
So many plays on words. Santa as in "Santa Maria!" or Santa as in ho, ho ho? There are just too many jokes that could derive from this name. It's a shame really, it's actually a very pretty name.