Holding steady, #12,008 for boys today.
Popularity of Shaka since 1970
Babies named Shaka per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1987, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Shaka's real moment was 1977.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 45 | 170 |
| 1980s | 78 | 181 |
| 1990s | 19 | 176 |
| 2000s | 0 | 39 |
| 2010s | 0 | 71 |
| 2020s | 0 | 60 |
Meaning & origin
Shaka is a rare given name in the United States, with its first recorded use in 1970 and a peak in popularity in 1977. By 2025, it ranked 12,008 with an incidence of approximately 1 in every 341,615 boys. The name carries a strong historical weight, primarily through the Zulu king Shaka, but in modern contexts it has also been associated with Rastafari culture. Despite its low frequency, Shaka has shown stable usage over time, neither rising sharply nor fading away. No U.S. state has recorded especially high usage for this name, reflecting its sporadic adoption nationwide.
The name Shaka is most famously associated with Shaka kaSenzangakhona, the early 19th-century Zulu king who united the Zulu nation. The meaning of his name is uncertain, with theories including 'intelligent' and 'the sun' in the Zulu language. As a given name, it has been used primarily outside Africa since the late 20th century, particularly following the spread of Rastafari culture and reggae music, in which the phrase 'Shaka' is used as an exclamation or as a reference to the king.
Sibling names for Shaka
Names that share Shaka's style, for a brother or sister.
