Shakyra
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "grateful" or "graceful".
Name Census estimates that about 1,106 living Americans carry the first name Shakyra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shakyra today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shakyra births was 2001 (73 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shakyra. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Shakyra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 309,904 Americans
Peak year
2001
73 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2018 SSA rank
#17,746
Tracked since 1981
Census
Shakyra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 867 people with the first name Shakyra, which placed it at #13,799 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
#13,799
National first-name rank
People counted
867
867 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
83.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shakyra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shakyra is Black at 83.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Shakyra 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 Shakyra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American83.3% · 722
- Hispanic or Latino9.2% · 80
- Two or more races3.9% · 34
- White2.9% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 6
Popularity
Shakyra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shakyra from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 492 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shakyra 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 Shakyra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shakyras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Shakyra, while Maryland, Georgia, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shakyra
The name Shakyra likely originated from the Arabic language, with roots tracing back to the Middle East and North Africa regions. It is believed to be a feminine variation of the Arabic name Shakir, derived from the word "shukr," meaning "grateful" or "thankful." This suggests that the name Shakyra carries a connotation of gratefulness or appreciation.
During the medieval period, the name Shakyra was commonly found in Islamic communities and societies influenced by Arabic culture. While it does not appear to have any direct references in major religious texts or ancient scriptures, the name's Arabic origins align with the linguistic and cultural traditions of the region during that time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shakyra can be traced back to the 12th century. Shakyra al-Durri, born in 1160 in Damascus, Syria, was a renowned poet and scholar renowned for her contributions to Arabic literature and philosophy. Her collection of poetry, known as the "Diwan al-Shakyra," is considered a significant work from that era.
In the 14th century, Shakyra bint al-Malik al-Ashraf, born in 1330 in Cairo, Egypt, was a prominent figure in the Mamluk Sultanate. She played a crucial role in the political and cultural affairs of the region, serving as a patron of the arts and a supporter of intellectual endeavors.
Moving forward to the 16th century, Shakyra al-Andalusiyya, born in 1520 in Granada, Spain, was a celebrated poet and calligrapher during the Moorish era in Andalusia. Her works were widely acclaimed for their eloquence and artistic elegance, reflecting the rich cultural fusion of Arab and Spanish influences.
In the 19th century, Shakyra al-Khalidi, born in 1845 in Damascus, Syria, was a prominent figure in the Arab Renaissance movement, known as the Nahda. She was a pioneering educator and advocate for women's rights, contributing significantly to the intellectual and social reform efforts of her time.
Another notable figure with the name Shakyra was Shakyra al-Khayri, born in 1890 in Tripoli, Libya. She was a renowned musician and composer, renowned for her contributions to the preservation and promotion of traditional Libyan music and cultural heritage.
It is worth noting that while the name Shakyra has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, it has since gained popularity and usage across various regions and communities around the world, transcending its original linguistic and cultural boundaries.
People
Shakyra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shakyra 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
Shakyra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shakyra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,106 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shakyra 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 309,904 US residents.
Is Shakyra a common name?
We classify Shakyra as "Rare". It ranks above 90.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,136 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shakyra most popular?
The single biggest year for Shakyra was 2001, when 73 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shakyra is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shakyra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 867 people with the name Shakyra, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,799 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 Shakyra 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 Shakyra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shakyra leans strongly female. 870 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 9 male bearers (1.0%). 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 Shakyra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shakyra is Black at 83.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Shakyra most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shakyra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.3% (722 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 Shakyra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shakyra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shakyra 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 Shakyra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shakyra 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 Shakyra 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 Shakyra?
You can see how many people have the name Shakyra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.