Shatima
An Arabic name meaning "woman of excellence" or "ambitious woman".
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the first name Shatima. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shatima today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shatima births was 1987 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shatima. 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
162
~ 1 in 2,115,768 Americans
Peak year
1987
13 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1999 SSA rank
#16,501
Tracked since 1974
Census
Shatima in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 158 people with the first name Shatima, which placed it at #44,091 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
#44,091
National first-name rank
People counted
158
158 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shatima
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shatima is Black at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (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 Shatima 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 Shatima at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.2% · 141
- Two or more races3.8% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 5
- White1.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 3
Popularity
Shatima: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shatima from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 83 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Shatima remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shatima 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 Shatima during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shatimas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shatima
The name Shatima is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, with its roots tracing back to the Middle East and North Africa regions. It is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "shatim," which means "captivating" or "enchanting." The name's origins can be traced back to the 7th century AD, during the time of the Islamic conquests and the spread of Arabic culture across the region.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Shatima can be found in ancient Islamic texts and manuscripts from the 9th century. These texts often referred to Shatima as a name given to women who were considered to be exceptionally beautiful and captivating. In some instances, the name was also associated with the concept of grace and elegance.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Shatima. One of the earliest recorded examples is Shatima bint Al-Husayn (born around 830 AD), a renowned poetess and scholar from the Abbasid Caliphate. Her works were highly acclaimed for their literary merits and were widely circulated during her lifetime.
Another prominent figure was Shatima Al-Andalusiyya (born in 1025 AD), a renowned Islamic mystic and Sufi from Al-Andalus (modern-day Spain). She was celebrated for her spiritual writings and her contributions to the development of Sufism in the region.
In the 12th century, Shatima bint Al-Muqaddam (born around 1150 AD) was a prominent female philosopher and writer from Damascus. Her works focused on ethics, metaphysics, and the role of women in society, and she was highly regarded for her intellectual achievements.
During the 13th century, Shatima Al-Baghdadiyya (born in 1210 AD) was a renowned calligrapher and artist from Baghdad. Her intricate and beautiful calligraphic works were celebrated throughout the Islamic world, and she is considered one of the most influential calligraphers of her time.
In more recent history, Shatima Al-Masry (1903-1989) was an Egyptian feminist and activist who played a pivotal role in advocating for women's rights and gender equality in the region. She was a prominent figure in the Egyptian feminist movement and worked tirelessly to promote education and empowerment for women.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who bore the name Shatima throughout history, each contributing to various fields and leaving a lasting impact on their respective societies and cultures.
People
Shatima + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shatima 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
Shatima: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shatima?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shatima 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 2,115,768 US residents.
Is Shatima a common name?
We classify Shatima as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 172 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shatima most popular?
The single biggest year for Shatima was 1987, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shatima is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shatima in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 158 people with the name Shatima, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,091 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 Shatima 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 Shatima?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shatima leans strongly female. 153 people counted with this name were female (98.1%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.9%). 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 Shatima?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shatima is Black at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and Hispanic (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 Shatima most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shatima in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (141 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 Shatima in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shatima a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shatima 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 Shatima still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shatima 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 Shatima 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 share the name Shatima?
You can see how many people have the name Shatima on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.