Shakira Name Meaning: What Does Shakira Mean for a Cat?

Shakira is the “feminine form of Shakir”, and Shakir means “thankful, grateful” in Arabic. One global superstar carried it everywhere; its rolling rhythm does the rest.

What Does the Name Shakira Mean?

Our database records Shakira’s meaning as “feminine form of Shakir.” Shakir is the Arabic name from the verb shakara“to thank,” so the name carries the sense of “thankful, grateful”, and its origin is Arabic. The meaning above is the verified literal one, not a personality guess, checked for this page against Behind the Name and the singer’s documented biography.

It is a quietly lovely meaning to give a rescue cat or any cat you are grateful wandered into your life: every time you call her, the name says thank you.

Gratitude, with a superstar’s stage presence.

The Story Behind the Name Shakira

The name is an established Arabic name, but one woman made it globally unmistakable: Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, born in Barranquilla, Colombia, to a father of Lebanese descent, which is where her Arabic name comes from. Profiles of the singer routinely gloss her name as “thankful” in Arabic, and her fame has carried the name far beyond the Arabic-speaking world.

Cat owners are now borrowing it: Chewy lists Shakira as the #8 fastest-rising name in its cat-name data. Presumably those cats’ hips also do not lie, or at least, their owners hope the charisma transfers.

What Kind of Cat Suits the Name Shakira?

Shakira is pronounced sha-KEER-ah, three musical syllables with a sway in the middle, and it shortens to Kira or Shak for everyday use. It suits a confident, charismatic cat who enters a room like she owns it: a natural pick for a dramatic long-hair, a born lap-poser, or any cat whose personality is simply too large for a two-syllable name.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the name Shakira mean?

Shakira is the feminine form of Shakir, the Arabic name meaning “thankful, grateful,” from the verb shakara, “to thank.”

Is Shakira a good name for a female cat?

Yes, Shakira is listed for female cats in our name database, and its meaning (“feminine form of Shakir,” i.e. thankful) gives the name real substance. Its three syllables sound grand, and it shortens easily to Kira for daily calls.

Is the cat name Shakira taken from the singer?

Usually, yes, the name itself is an older Arabic name, but the Colombian singer Shakira (whose father is of Lebanese descent) is the reason most owners outside the Arabic-speaking world know and choose it.

Where can I find more names like Shakira?

Shakira appears in our 140 Cat Names From Around the World and 205 Unique Cat Names lists, and the full cat names hub gathers every collection in one place.

By Brianna Baxter

Meaning and origin verified against Behind the Name and Wikipedia.