Given name & surname
Shakir
“one who is grateful”
Shakir is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “one who is grateful.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Arabic interpretation is “one who is grateful.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1971. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Shakir through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,227
- 1,217 boys · 10 girls
- Most popular year
- 1993
- 73 babies
- 2025
- 13
- #6,742 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +6%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 13 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6,742 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 5.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 68 in 1993. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,320 as a first name in 2020; 2,055 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Shakir’s family of names
Shakir has a feminine form in Shakira. Shakir has a related form in Shaker. Shakir has a related form in Shakar.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Shakervariant
- Shakarvariant
- Shakeervariant
- Shakirrlikely variant
- Shakyrvariant
- Shakearvariant
- Shakeirvariant
- Shakiervariant
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Shakir
- Şakir SelimSoviet writer and poet (1942-2008)
- Abu WaheebIS Field Commander1986–2016
- Shakir Al FahamSyrian politician1921–2008
- Shakir JalaliGovernor of the Afghanistan Central Bank
- Shakir AbenovSoviet writer, poet, bard, folklorist, composer1900–1994
- Shakir Gatiatullinsoviet Red Army senior sergeant (1916–1972)
- Shakir Hassan Al SaidIraqi painter (1925-2004)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Shakir, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Saddam
“a powerful ruler; the crusher”
>99% boys
Hamed
Hamed is a masculine given name from Arabic.
>99% boys
Aqil
Aqil is a masculine given name from Arabic.
>99% boys
Rahmi
Rahmi is a masculine given name from Ottoman Turkish, ultimately from Arabic. It is used in Turkish.
>99% boys
Abed
“servant, worshipper”
>99% boys
Obaid
Obaid is a surname from Arabic.
>99% boys
Billal
Billal is a masculine given name from Arabic. It is used in French.
>99% boys
Basit
Basit is a masculine given name from Arabic.
>99% boys