Shaquille
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Meaning
handsome, well-formed (from Arabic Shakil); famously borne by Shaquille O'Neal
The story
Shaquille comes from the Arabic Shakil, meaning handsome or well-formed, and for most of American history it was essentially unknown in the naming records. Then came the autumn of 1992, when a seven-foot-one force of nature named Shaquille O'Neal entered the NBA and became, almost overnight, the most famous big man in the world: four championships, a Most Valuable Player award, and a personality large enough to fill movies, rap albums and decades of television. The name burst onto American birth certificates in the 1990s, its first and highest peak, tracking his arrival so closely that the connection is hard to doubt, even if such things can never quite be proven. As O'Neal mellowed into an elder statesman, the wave subsided. What remains is a name with a genuinely lovely meaning, a single towering association, and a spike on the chart that marks the exact moment America fell for Shaq.
How popular is Shaquille around the world?
In the United States, 227 babies were named Shaquille between 2020 and 2025.
Shaquille is on the official records of the United States.
United States
1 in 96,000
In the United States, 227 babies were named Shaquille between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Shaquille peaked in the 1990s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Austria
last on record 2009
Shaquille is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Canada
last on record 2005
Shaquille is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
last on record 2024
Shaquille is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
last on record 1998
Shaquille is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Puerto Rico
last on record 2003
Shaquille is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 12 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
South Australia
last on record 2013
Shaquille is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Ireland, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Shaquille
Most people given the name Shaquille in the United States were born between 1990 and 1999. The Shaquille you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Shaquille deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Shaquille truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Shaquille fits with your family’s names and surname.
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