Shakeel
Of Arabic origin, meaning one who is thankful or appreciative.
Name Census estimates that about 212 living Americans carry the first name Shakeel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shakeel today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shakeel births was 1993 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shakeel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Shakeel with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
212
~ 1 in 1,616,766 Americans
Peak year
1993
45 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,912
Tracked since 1982
Census
Shakeel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 754 people with the first name Shakeel, which placed it at #15,301 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,301
National first-name rank
People counted
754
754 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
75.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shakeel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shakeel is Asian/Pacific Islander at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (18.8%) and White (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shakeel described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Shakeel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander75.3% · 568
- Black or African American18.8% · 142
- White2.5% · 19
- Two or more races2.0% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 10
Popularity
Shakeel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shakeel from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 171 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shakeel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Shakeel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shakeels live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shakeel
The name Shakeel is of Arabic origin and has its roots in the word "shakala," which means "to form" or "to shape." It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period in the Middle East.
The name Shakeel was initially associated with artisans and craftsmen, particularly those involved in shaping and forming various materials into intricate designs. It carried connotations of skill, precision, and attention to detail.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shakeel can be found in the writings of Ibn Battuta, a renowned Moroccan scholar and explorer from the 14th century. In his travelogues, he mentions encountering a skilled metalworker named Shakeel during his journey through the Persian territories.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Shakeel. One such individual was Shakeel Badayuni, a renowned Sufi poet and mystic who lived in the 16th century during the Mughal Empire in India. His poetic works and spiritual teachings greatly influenced the literary and cultural landscape of his time.
Another prominent figure was Shakeel Ahmad Khan, an Indian politician and freedom fighter who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement. He was born in 1892 and actively participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi.
In the realm of sports, Shakeel Abbasi, a Pakistani cricketer, made his mark in the 1970s and 1980s. He represented the national team and was known for his all-round abilities as a right-arm off-break bowler and a useful lower-order batsman.
The name Shakeel also gained recognition in the field of literature with Shakeel Badayuni, a Pakistani writer and poet who lived from 1916 to 1969. His works, including poetry collections and novels, explored themes of love, spirituality, and social commentary, earning him widespread acclaim.
Another notable figure was Shakeel Siddiqui, an Indian film director and screenwriter born in 1936. He directed numerous popular Hindi films during the 1960s and 1970s, contributing significantly to the golden age of Indian cinema.
While the name Shakeel has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and found acceptance across various regions, particularly in the Middle East, South Asia, and parts of Africa.
People
Shakeel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shakeel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shakeel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shakeel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 212 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shakeel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,616,766 US residents.
Is Shakeel a common name?
We classify Shakeel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 218 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shakeel most popular?
The single biggest year for Shakeel was 1993, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shakeel is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shakeel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 754 people with the name Shakeel, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,301 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Shakeel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Shakeel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shakeel leans strongly male. 746 people counted with this name were male (98.4%), compared with 12 female bearers (1.6%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Shakeel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shakeel is Asian/Pacific Islander at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (18.8%) and White (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Shakeel most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Shakeel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (568 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Shakeel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shakeel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shakeel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Shakeel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shakeel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Shakeel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Shakeel as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Shakeel, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.