Shakobe
A masculine name from the Choctaw language meaning "great one".
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Shakobe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shakobe today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shakobe births was 2002 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shakobe. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shakobe. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2002
6 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2002 SSA rank
#10,454
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Shakobe: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Shakobe 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 Shakobe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Shakobe
The name Shakobe has its origins in the ancient Yoruba language, which is primarily spoken in southwestern Nigeria and parts of Benin and Togo. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century, when the Yoruba people were a dominant cultural force in West Africa. The name is derived from the Yoruba words "Shako" meaning "brave" and "be" meaning "to be," essentially translating to "one who is brave."
Shakobe was a relatively uncommon name in historical records, but it did appear in some Yoruba folklore and oral traditions, often associated with brave warriors or hunters. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the "Itan Irinajo Ilu," a collection of Yoruba stories and legends dating back to the 16th century, where a character named Shakobe is described as a fearless hunter who protected his village from dangerous animals.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who bore the name Shakobe. One of the earliest was Shakobe Oluwole, a Yoruba chief and military leader who lived in the late 17th century. He was known for his bravery in battle and his leadership during the wars against the neighboring Oyo Empire. Another notable figure was Shakobe Akinrinade, a Yoruba scholar and philosopher who lived in the late 18th century and wrote extensively on Yoruba culture and traditions.
In more recent times, there was Shakobe Olatunbosun, a Nigerian artist and sculptor who was born in 1920 and passed away in 2003. He was renowned for his intricate wood carvings and his efforts to preserve traditional Yoruba art forms. Additionally, Shakobe Olugbile, a Nigerian musician born in 1935, gained recognition for his contributions to the development of Juju music, a popular genre in West Africa.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Shakobe was Shakobe Bamigboye, a Nigerian author and playwright who lived from 1928 to 1995. He is best known for his plays that explored social and political issues in Nigeria, and his works were widely acclaimed both nationally and internationally.
While the name Shakobe is not as common today as it once was, it still holds cultural significance within the Yoruba community and serves as a reminder of the rich history and traditions of this West African people.
People
Shakobe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shakobe 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
Shakobe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shakobe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shakobe 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Shakobe a common name?
We classify Shakobe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shakobe most popular?
The single biggest year for Shakobe was 2002, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shakobe is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Shakobe in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shakobe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shakobe 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 Shakobe still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shakobe 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 Shakobe 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Shakobe?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Shakobe at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.