Chaquita
Feminine
Chaquita is one vowel from the Spanish chiquita, a little girl, and one letter from Shaquita, and the record ties it to neither. Its opening pair has a history of its own: until 2010 the Spanish alphabet counted ch as a separate letter, between c and d.
How old is the name Chaquita?
Chaquita first appears in US birth records in 1972 — 53 years ago. The typical Chaquita alive today was born around 1986, making them about 39 years old. About 500 people named Chaquita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Chaquita most popular?
Chaquita peaked in 1986, reaching #2512 nationally. See the whole 1986 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Chaquita
Our Chaquita begins with a pair of letters that Spanish long treated as one. For generations Spanish dictionaries filed ch words in a section of their own, after all the c words, and the Spanish language academies dropped ch from the alphabet only in 2010. In Spanish, then, Chaquita opens with the firm ch of chico; in English it can open with the sh of Shaquita. The rest of the name has the lilt of a Spanish diminutive without matching any Spanish word, so it sounds at home in two languages and belongs to neither dictionary.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No meaning is recorded for Chaquita. Chiquita is the Spanish for a little girl, a diminutive of chica; Shaquita is an American build of Sha- and a -quita ending. Chaquita is close to both and is recorded as neither, and no Spanish word is spelled this way.
Pronouncing Chaquita
shuh-KEE-tuh
Said with sh, like Shaquita, it is shuh-KEE-tuh. A Spanish reader will give the Ch the sound it has in chico, chuh-KEE-tuh.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1972
- Most girls named
- 198639 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2512reached in 1986
- Change vs 1997
- −14.3%6 in 1999, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Chaquitas among us
people named Chaquita are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Chaquita sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The stressed syllable and ending are the familiar -quita, so the rhythm is easy to catch.
- Close to chiquita and Shaquita, so it is remembered after one hearing.
- Rare in its own right.
- Spanish speakers will hear chiquita, a little girl, one vowel away, and will likely say the Ch as in chico.
- Chiquita is also a well-known banana brand, and the association will occur to some people.
- Expect Shaquita and Chiquita on forms; the family's spelling will need to be given each time.
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Chaquita
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Chaquitas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Chaquita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Chaquita in 2025?
- Chaquita is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Chaquita with classmates?
- Chaquita will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Chaquita? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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