Given name
Shakira
“grateful; thankful”·“one who is grateful”
Shakira is a feminine form of Shakir. One Arabic interpretation is “one who is grateful.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Arabic use, Shakira carries the interpretation “grateful; thankful.” Shakira is a feminine form of Shakir. One Arabic interpretation is “one who is grateful.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
How it developed
Shakira is used as a feminine counterpart of Shakir.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1970. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Shakira through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 8,276
- 0 boys · 8,276 girls
- Most popular year
- 2002
- 512 babies
- 2025
- 12
- #8,792 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −41%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 12 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 8,792 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 41.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 512 in 2002. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,544 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Shakira’s family of names
In French usage, Shakira has a diminutive in SHAKI. Shakira is a feminine form of Shakir. Shakira has a related form in Shakyra.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Shakidiminutive · French
- Shakearavariant
- Shakirravariant
- Shakuravariant
- Shakeyravariant
- Shakyravariant
- Shakeiravariant
- Shaakiravariant
Show 3 moreShow fewer
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Shakira
- ShakiraColombian singer-songwriter (born 1977)
- Shakira CaineGuyanese-British model and actressborn 1947
- Shakira AustinAmerican basketball player (born 2000)
- Shakira BakerNew Zealand rugby sevens playerborn 1992
- Shakira DuncanJamaican footballerborn 1986
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Shakira, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Soraia
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