Shakera
A feminine name derived from Arabic meaning "thankful" or "grateful".
Name Census estimates that about 1,320 living Americans carry the first name Shakera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shakera today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shakera births was 1992 (102 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shakera. 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 Shakera with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 259,662 Americans
Peak year
1992
102 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2012 SSA rank
#16,535
Tracked since 1972
Census
Shakera in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,180 people with the first name Shakera, which placed it at #11,027 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
#11,027
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,180 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
84.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shakera
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shakera is Black at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.8%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Shakera 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 Shakera at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American84.7% · 1,000
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.8% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 36
- White2.1% · 25
- Two or more races2.1% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Shakera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shakera from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 689 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
Shakera 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 Shakera during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shakeras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Shakera, while Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 52 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shakera
The name Shakera has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic word "shakara," which means "to be thankful" or "to express gratitude." The name is believed to have emerged in the Middle East during the early Islamic period, around the 7th century AD.
One of the earliest known references to the name Shakera can be found in ancient Arabic texts and manuscripts. It is said that the name was bestowed upon individuals who embodied a spirit of gratitude and appreciation for the blessings bestowed upon them by the divine.
Throughout history, the name Shakera has been associated with several notable figures. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Shakera bint Al-Qasim, a renowned scholar and poet who lived in the 9th century AD in present-day Iraq. She was celebrated for her contributions to Arabic literature and her profound understanding of Islamic teachings.
Another notable figure bearing the name Shakera was Shakera al-Durri, a powerful and influential woman who lived in the 11th century AD. She played a significant role in the political affairs of the Fatimid Caliphate, wielding considerable influence and authority during her lifetime.
In the 13th century AD, Shakera bint Ahmad al-Sufi, a prominent astronomer and mathematician, made substantial contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. Her work on the observation and cataloging of stars and celestial bodies was highly regarded and influential in the scientific community of her time.
The name Shakera also found its way into the realm of art and literature. Shakera bint Ali al-Andalusi, a 14th century Andalusian poet, was renowned for her beautiful and evocative verses that captured the essence of love, nature, and the human experience.
In more recent times, the name Shakera gained popularity in various parts of the world, transcending its Arabic roots. One notable figure was Shakera Selman, a 20th century activist and advocate for women's rights and social justice in the Middle East.
While the name Shakera has maintained its presence throughout history, it has also evolved and taken on various spellings and variations across different cultures and regions. However, its essence and meaning as a symbol of gratitude and appreciation have remained constant, a testament to the enduring legacy of this name.
People
Shakera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shakera 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
Shakera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shakera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,320 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shakera 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 259,662 US residents.
Is Shakera a common name?
We classify Shakera as "Rare". It ranks above 91.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,374 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shakera most popular?
The single biggest year for Shakera was 1992, when 102 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shakera is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shakera in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,180 people with the name Shakera, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,027 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 Shakera 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 Shakera?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shakera appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,178 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Shakera?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shakera is Black at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (7.8%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Shakera most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shakera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (1,000 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 Shakera in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shakera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shakera in the SSA data are female. 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 Shakera still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shakera 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 Shakera 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 the name Shakera?
See how many people have the name Shakera on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.