Shakia
An Arabic name meaning "thankful" or "grateful".
Name Census estimates that about 2,253 living Americans carry the first name Shakia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shakia today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shakia births was 1993 (153 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shakia. 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 Shakia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.3K
~ 1 in 152,132 Americans
Peak year
1993
153 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2016 SSA rank
#15,942
Tracked since 1974
Census
Shakia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,819 people with the first name Shakia, which placed it at #8,083 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
#8,083
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,819 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shakia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shakia is Black at 89.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Shakia 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 Shakia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.3% · 1,624
- White3.6% · 65
- Two or more races3.2% · 59
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 38
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 13
Popularity
Shakia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shakia 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 950 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
Shakia 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 Shakia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shakias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland recorded the most babies named Shakia, while Connecticut, Alabama, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 78 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shakia
The name Shakia originates from the Arabic language and culture, with roots dating back to the 7th century AD. It is derived from the Arabic word "shakir," which means "grateful" or "thankful." This name gained prominence during the early Islamic era, as it embodied the virtues of gratitude and appreciation towards the divine blessings.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Shakia can be found in the historical texts of the Abbasid Caliphate, where it was used as a personal name by members of the ruling elite. The name's association with Islamic values and teachings contributed to its widespread use among the Muslim population during that time period.
In the 11th century, Shakia gained further recognition as the name of a renowned female scholar and poet from Persia. Shakia bint al-Husayn al-Isfahani was celebrated for her literary works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition. Her contributions to Persian literature and cultural development cemented the name's legacy in the region.
Throughout the centuries, the name Shakia has been carried by notable individuals across various fields. One such figure was Shakia al-Misri, a 13th-century Egyptian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the development of astronomical instruments.
In the realm of religion, Shakia al-Baghdadi, born in 1160, was a renowned Sufi mystic and scholar from Baghdad. Her teachings on spirituality and the pursuit of divine knowledge influenced generations of followers and left a lasting impact on the Sufi tradition.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Shakia al-Andalusi, a 12th-century poet and scholar from Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain). Her poetic works, which celebrated the beauty of nature and the human experience, were widely admired and helped shape the literary landscape of the era.
While the name Shakia has its roots in the Arabic and Islamic world, it has also transcended cultural boundaries and found a place in various societies and traditions throughout history. Its meaning and significance have evolved over time, yet it remains a testament to the enduring appreciation for gratitude and thankfulness across diverse cultures.
People
Shakia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shakia 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
Shakia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shakia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,253 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shakia 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 152,132 US residents.
Is Shakia a common name?
We classify Shakia as "Rare". It ranks above 94.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,358 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shakia most popular?
The single biggest year for Shakia was 1993, when 153 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shakia is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shakia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,819 people with the name Shakia, or 0.60 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,083 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 Shakia 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 Shakia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shakia appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,821 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Shakia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shakia is Black at 89.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Shakia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shakia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (1,624 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 Shakia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shakia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shakia 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 Shakia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shakia 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 Shakia 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 Shakia?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Shakia, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.