Shakirah
Feminine · “thankful”
Shakirah is an Arabic name, and it arrived in American records twice, by two routes that had nothing to do with each other. One came across the Atlantic by way of Latin America. The other was chosen in the United States by families reaching directly for Arabic.
How old is the name Shakirah?
Shakirah first appears in US birth records in 1976 — 49 years ago. The typical Shakirah alive today was born around 1994, making them about 31 years old. About 800 people named Shakirah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shakirah most popular?
Shakirah peaked in 1992, reaching #2830 nationally. See the whole 1992 chart.
Where it comes from
From shakir to Shakirah
The story of Shakirah
From the late nineteenth century onward, very large numbers of people left what is now Lebanon and Syria, and a great many of them went to Latin America: to Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela and above all to the Caribbean coast of Colombia. They kept their family names, and often their given names, for generations. That is one road, and it is why Arabic names appear in Spanish-speaking records with Spanish spellings and Spanish pronunciations. The other road is entirely separate. In the second half of the twentieth century many Black American families began choosing Arabic names directly, from religious conviction or from a deliberate reach past the naming conventions they had inherited. Both roads lead to this name. A child called Shakirah in America may have come by either, and the record cannot tell you which.
Meaning
thankful, grateful
The name is the feminine of an Arabic word meaning one who gives thanks. The reading is settled and the word is in everyday use. The final h in this spelling represents a letter that marks the feminine in Arabic writing.
How the name formed
- shakir
- shakirah
- Shakira
- Shakirah
Related forms: Shakira · Shakira
Pronouncing Shakirah
shuh-KEER-uh
Three syllables with the weight in the middle. The final h is silent in English and marks the Arabic feminine ending rather than a sound.
Nicknames for Shakirah
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
- 1976
- Most girls named
- 199242 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2830reached in 1992
- Change vs 2016
- +20.0%6 in 2018, from 5
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.
Shakirah in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Shakira in Arabic — transliteration
- Shakira in Spanish — spelling variant
Shakirahs among us
people named Shakirah 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
Shakirah 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 meaning is settled and genuinely pleasant: one who is grateful.
- The sound is widely familiar in the United States, so it is never a puzzle to say.
- It works in English, Spanish and Arabic without any adjustment, which is a rare reach for one spelling.
- The final h will be dropped by almost everyone writing the name down, since Shakira is the commoner spelling.
- One very famous singer holds this name in the public mind, and the association is cheerful but total.
- It sits close to Shakia, Shakera and Shakiera in the record, and will be spelled by ear as any of them.
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What they receive
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Shakirah
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Shakirahs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Shakirah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shakirah in 2025?
- Shakirah is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Shakirah with classmates?
- Shakirah will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Susan#1085 · Sarah#90 · Sandra#1207 · Stephanie#557 · Sharon#1250 · Shirley#1581 · Samantha#151 · Sophia#5
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shakirah? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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