Shakiera
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "grateful" or "thankful".
Name Census estimates that about 367 living Americans carry the first name Shakiera. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shakiera today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shakiera births was 1995 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shakiera. 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 Shakiera with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
367
~ 1 in 933,936 Americans
Peak year
1995
30 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2009 SSA rank
#16,947
Tracked since 1981
Census
Shakiera in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 294 people with the first name Shakiera, which placed it at #29,893 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
#29,893
National first-name rank
People counted
294
294 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shakiera
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shakiera is Black at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and White (1.4%). 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 Shakiera 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 Shakiera at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.2% · 268
- Two or more races4.1% · 12
- White1.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Shakiera: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shakiera from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 221 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Shakiera remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shakiera 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 Shakiera during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shakieras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Maryland, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Shakiera, while Florida, New Jersey, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shakiera
The name Shakiera is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, with its roots tracing back to the Middle East and North Africa regions during the medieval period. The name is a feminine variation of the masculine name Shakir, which is derived from the Arabic word "shukr," meaning "grateful" or "thankful."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shakiera can be found in the historical records of the Umayyad Caliphate, which ruled a vast territory spanning from the Iberian Peninsula to Central Asia between the 7th and 8th centuries. During this time, the name was likely given to girls born into influential families or those with close ties to the ruling class.
In the realm of literature, the name Shakiera is mentioned in several Arabic poems and literary works from the 9th and 10th centuries. These works often depicted women bearing the name as embodiments of beauty, grace, and virtue, reflecting the cultural values and ideals of the time.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Shakiera. One of the earliest recorded instances is Shakiera bint Al-Muqtadir (885-920), a princess from the Abbasid Caliphate who was renowned for her patronage of the arts and her support for scholars and poets.
Another prominent figure bearing the name was Shakiera al-Durri (1186-1242), a powerful and influential woman who served as the regent of the Ayyubid Sultanate during the 13th century. Her leadership and political acumen played a crucial role in maintaining stability and preserving the dynasty's power.
In the realm of literature and poetry, Shakiera al-Andalusiya (1232-1297) was a celebrated poet and scholar from Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain). Her works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, earned her widespread acclaim and a lasting legacy in the literary world.
During the Ottoman Empire's golden age, Shakiera Khanum (1556-1623) was a prominent figure known for her philanthropy and patronage of the arts. She commissioned the construction of several monumental buildings, including mosques and educational institutions, leaving an indelible mark on the cultural landscape of the empire.
More recently, Shakiera al-Bakri (1903-1988) was a renowned Egyptian writer and feminist activist who played a pivotal role in advocating for women's rights and social reform in the early 20th century. Her literary works and advocacy efforts earned her recognition both nationally and internationally.
People
Shakiera + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shakiera 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
Shakiera: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shakiera?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 367 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shakiera 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 933,936 US residents.
Is Shakiera a common name?
We classify Shakiera as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 379 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shakiera most popular?
The single biggest year for Shakiera was 1995, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shakiera 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 Shakiera in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 294 people with the name Shakiera, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,893 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 Shakiera 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 Shakiera?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shakiera appears almost entirely female. Of the 292 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Shakiera?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shakiera is Black at 91.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and White (1.4%). 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 Shakiera most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shakiera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.2% (268 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 Shakiera in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shakiera a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shakiera 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 Shakiera still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shakiera 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 Shakiera 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 common is the name Shakiera?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.