Shamirah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "watchful guardian" or "keeper".
Name Census estimates that about 212 living Americans carry the first name Shamirah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shamirah today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shamirah births was 1992 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shamirah. 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
212
~ 1 in 1,616,766 Americans
Peak year
1992
17 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2018 SSA rank
#17,749
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Shamirah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shamirah from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 82 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shamirah 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 Shamirah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shamirahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shamirah
The name Shamirah has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, dating back to the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic root word "shamara," which means "to protect" or "to guard." The name is thought to have been inspired by the concept of divine protection and guidance in Islamic tradition.
In its earliest recorded use, Shamirah was a name given to females in various regions of the Middle East and North Africa, where Arabic was the predominant language. The name gained popularity among Muslim communities as a reflection of their faith and cultural heritage.
While the name Shamirah does not appear explicitly in religious scriptures or ancient texts, its meaning and connotation align with Islamic principles of seeking protection and guidance from Allah. Some Islamic scholars have suggested that the name may have been inspired by certain verses in the Quran that speak of divine protection and guardianship.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Shamirah was Shamirah bint Al-Husayn (born c. 680 CE), a prominent female scholar and poet from the Umayyad Caliphate in present-day Syria. She was renowned for her expertise in Arabic literature and her contributions to the development of Islamic poetry.
Another notable figure in history bearing the name Shamirah was Shamirah Al-Khwarizmi (c. 780 CE - c. 850 CE), a renowned mathematician and astronomer from the Abbasid Caliphate in present-day Iran. She is credited with contributing to the development of algebra and introducing significant advancements in the field of mathematics.
In the 12th century, Shamirah Al-Qurashiyah (c. 1120 CE - c. 1195 CE) was a celebrated poet and writer from the city of Cordoba in present-day Spain. Her works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, were widely admired and influential during the Golden Age of Islamic civilization in Andalusia.
During the Ottoman Empire, Shamirah Khanum (c. 1500 CE - c. 1580 CE) was a prominent figure in the imperial harem of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She was known for her intelligence, cultural refinement, and influence in the court, serving as a trusted advisor to the Sultan.
In more recent times, Shamirah Al-Jazairi (1885 - 1960) was a renowned Algerian poet and activist who played a significant role in the struggle for Algerian independence from French colonial rule. Her poetic works, which often reflected themes of resistance and national pride, inspired generations of Algerians in their pursuit of freedom and self-determination.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Shamirah, each leaving their mark in various fields such as literature, science, politics, and culture.
People
Shamirah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shamirah 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
Shamirah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shamirah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 212 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shamirah 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 1,616,766 US residents.
Is Shamirah a common name?
We classify Shamirah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 218 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shamirah most popular?
The single biggest year for Shamirah was 1992, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shamirah is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shamirah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shamirah 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.
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.