Sakina
Feminine · “tranquility”
Sakina is one of the more remarkable words in the Semitic languages, because Arabic and Hebrew both have it and both use it for the same idea: the settled, dwelling presence of God. The Hebrew is Shekhinah and this is its Arabic cousin.
How old is the name Sakina?
Sakina first appears in US birth records in 1961 — 64 years ago. The typical Sakina alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 1,600 people named Sakina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sakina most popular?
Sakina peaked in 1979, reaching #2671 nationally. Today it ranks #2859, 188 places below that high. See the whole 1979 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From sakina to Sakina
The story of Sakina
The root behind this name runs across the Semitic languages with the sense of settling and dwelling, and both Judaism and Islam built a theological term on it. In Jewish thought the Shekhinah is the divine presence resting among people; in the Qur'an sakina descends into the hearts of the faithful at moments of fear. As a woman's name Sakina is used across the Arab world, Iran, Turkey and South Asia, and it is especially honored in Shia families, where it belongs to a daughter of Husayn. It reaches United States records from all of those.
Meaning
tranquility; the indwelling presence
Arabic sakina comes from the root s-k-n, 'to dwell, to be still', which also gives sakan, a dwelling. It means calm and repose, and in the Qur'an it names something more specific — a peace sent down by God into the hearts of believers. The Hebrew Shekhinah, from the cognate root sh-k-n, carries the same idea of God's presence coming to rest. The reading is documented in both languages.
How the name formed
- sakina
- Sakina
Related forms: Sakina · Sakina · Sekine · Shekhinah
Pronouncing Sakina
sah-KEE-nah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle and a long ee. English speakers sometimes say suh-KY-nuh, giving the middle vowel an English long i, which is a different sound entirely.
Nicknames for Sakina
Moderate
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
- 1961
- Most girls named
- 202559 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2671reached in 1979
- Change vs 2024
- +1.7%59 in 2025, from 58
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.
Sakina in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sakina in Arabic — transliteration
- Sakina in Urdu — same name
- Sekine in Turkish — spelling variant
- Shekhinah in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, New York, Illinois.
Sakinas among us
people named Sakina are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 27,242 born in 2025 was named Sakina
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Sakina
- #2859
- Sakina on the 2025 chart
- #885
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Sakina went to 59 girls in 2025, but Sakinah is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 75, which makes it the 885th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,974 places above the chart.
- Sakina59
- Sakinah16
About 1 girl in 21,430 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 27,242 for Sakina itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Mauri test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Sakina's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Mauri climbed just as high around 1952, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Mauri's path sketches the road Sakina is walking now.
Sakina sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Sakina is headed
Sakina looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 17% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Sakina beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sakina in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented meaning with real theological weight in two religious traditions.
- Six letters, entirely phonetic, and said correctly by English speakers at first sight.
- Recognized across Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Urdu without explanation.
- English speakers reach for an English long i in the middle until corrected.
- It carries particular significance in Shia families, which is worth knowing whether or not it is yours.
- Sakina and Sakinah are both in use and the final h gets added or dropped.
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What they receive
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Sakina
Feminine · #2859 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sakinas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,600 people named Sakina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Sakina?
- Sakina is the most-used spelling in US records — 59 of the 75 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Sakinah.
- How popular is the name Sakina in 2025?
- Sakina ranks #2859 among US girl names in 2025, with 59 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sakina?
- About 1 in every 27,242 US girls born in 2025 was named Sakina — 59 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sakina with classmates?
- Sakina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sakina
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Emilly#2859 · Pyper#2859 · Amarie#2859 · Luci#2859 · Issa#2859 · Azaliah#2859 · Malinda#2859 · Kyah#2859
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sakina? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sakina and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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