Shakir
A masculine Arabic name meaning "thankful" or "appreciative".
Name Census estimates that about 1,183 living Americans carry the first name Shakir. It is a predominantly male name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Shakir today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shakir births was 1993 (73 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shakir. 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.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 289,733 Americans
Peak year
1993
73 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,194
Tracked since 1971
Gender
Gender distribution for Shakir
Out of the 1,214 babies given the name Shakir since 1880, 99.2% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Shakir as a male name
- Ranked #5,194 in 2024
- 19 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (68 births)
Shakir as a female name
- Ranked #15,313 in 1994
- 5 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1993 (5 births)
Popularity
Shakir: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shakir from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 368 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
Shakir 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 Shakir during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shakirs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Shakir, while Florida, Georgia, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 48 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shakir
The name Shakir finds its origins in the Arabic language and culture, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic root word "shakara," which means "to be grateful" or "to give thanks." The name is believed to have gained popularity among Arab communities as a way to express gratitude and appreciation for blessings bestowed upon an individual.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Shakir can be found in the famous Arabic literary work "Mu'allaqat," a collection of pre-Islamic Arabic poems. The poem attributed to the poet Zuhayr bin Abi Sulma, who lived in the 6th century AD, mentions a person named Shakir, indicating the name's existence during that time period.
In Islamic tradition, the name Shakir is mentioned in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. Specifically, it is used as an attribute of Allah (God) in Surah Al-Fatir, verse 34, where Allah is described as "Shakir Alim" (The Most Appreciative, The All-Knowing). This reference to the name in the Quran has contributed to its popularity among Muslim communities worldwide.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shakir. One of the earliest recorded was Shakir al-Numan (779-819 AD), a renowned Arabic poet and scholar from Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate. Another famous bearer of the name was Shakir Khan (1619-1688), a Mughal nobleman and military commander who served under the Mughal emperors Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb in India.
In the 20th century, Shakir Ali Khan (1874-1930) was a prominent Indian politician and statesman who served as the first Muslim President of the Indian National Congress in 1920. Shakir Mustafa (1916-2008) was an Egyptian actor and filmmaker who made significant contributions to the Egyptian cinema industry.
More recently, Shakir Baksh (1918-1992) was a Pakistani linguist and scholar who played a crucial role in the development of the Sindhi language and literature. Shakir Ullah (1944-2021) was a renowned Pakistani cricketer who represented the national team in the 1960s and 1970s and later served as a cricket administrator.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Shakir throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of culture and tradition associated with this name.
People
Shakir + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shakir 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
Shakir: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shakir?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,183 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shakir 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 289,733 US residents.
Is Shakir a common name?
We classify Shakir as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,214 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shakir most popular?
The single biggest year for Shakir was 1993, when 73 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shakir is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shakir a male name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Shakir 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.
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.