How popular is the baby name Chaka in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Chaka.

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Popularity of the baby name Chaka


Posts that mention the name Chaka

What popularized the baby name Tamia in the mid-1990s?

Tamia's self-titled debut album (1998)
Tamia album

According to the U.S. baby name data, the uncommon name Tamia jumped straight into the girls’ top 500 in 1996:

  • 1998: 742 baby girls named Tamia [rank: 380th]
  • 1997: 579 baby girls named Tamia [rank: 440th]
  • 1996: 483 baby girls named Tamia [rank: 498th]
  • 1995: 67 baby girls named Tamia
  • 1994: 33 baby girls named Tamia
  • 1993: 39 baby girls named Tamia

Tamia went on to see peak usage during the first years of the 2000s. Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Tamia in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Tamia

What was influencing this name?

Canadian R&B singer Tamia Washington — known mononymously as Tamia (pronounced tah-MEE-ah) — who became famous in the mid-1990s thanks to her association with music producer Quincy Jones.

In late 1995, Jones released the album Q’s Juke Joint, which featured dozens of established artists (e.g., Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Brandy, Coolio, Babyface, Queen Latifah) on various tracks.

Two of the tracks featured newcomer Tamia, and, as it happened, both songs — “You Put a Move on My Heart” (1995) and “Slow Jams” (1996) — were chosen as singles. Each one reached Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart, and each one also received a Grammy nomination.

Later in 1996, yet another song featuring Tamia both reached the Hot 100 (peaking at #25) and received a Grammy nomination. This one — “Missing You” by Brandy, Tamia, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan — came from the soundtrack of the movie Set If Off.

Tamia finally released her first album in 1998. To date, her most successful solo single is “Stranger in My House,” which was released in 2001 and reached #10 on the charts. Two years later, she was featured on the Fabolous single “Into You,” which peaked at #4.

So has Tamia influenced baby names in her home country as well?

Yes — her name debuted in the Canadian data in 1997, and made its first and only appearance in the Canadian girls’ top 1,000 in 2004:

  • 2006: 12 baby girls in Canada named Tamia
  • 2005: 20 baby girls in Canada named Tamia
  • 2004: 25 baby girls in Canada named Tamia [rank: 883rd] – peak usage
  • 2003: 15 baby girls in Canada named Tamia
  • 2002: 18 baby girls in Canada named Tamia
  • 2001: 12 baby girls in Canada named Tamia
  • 2000: 11 baby girls in Canada named Tamia
  • 1999: 11 baby girls in Canada named Tamia
  • 1998: 17 baby girls in Canada named Tamia
  • 1997: 10 baby girls in Canada named Tamia [debut]
  • 1996: unlisted
  • 1995: unlisted

What are your thoughts on the name Tamia? Would you use it?

Sources: Tamia – Wikipedia, Q’s Juke Joint – Wikipedia, Baby Names Observatory – Statistics Canada, SSA

What gave the baby name Shanice a boost (multiple times)?

Shanice's self-titled album (1999)
Shanice album

During the late 20th century, the name Shanice saw four distinct spikes in usage: two prominent ones in 1988 and 1992, flanked by two smaller ones in 1985 and 1999.

Here’s some of the data:

  • 1994: 782 baby girls named Shanice [rank: 342nd]
  • 1993: 1,345 baby girls named Shanice [rank: 213th]
  • 1992: 1,859 baby girls named Shanice [rank: 167th]
  • 1991: 304 baby girls named Shanice [rank: 700th]
  • 1990: 289 baby girls named Shanice [rank: 725th]
  • 1989: 537 baby girls named Shanice [rank: 452nd]
  • 1988: 938 baby girls named Shanice [rank: 270th]
  • 1987: 140 baby girls named Shanice
  • 1986: 39 baby girls named Shanice

And here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Shanice in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Shanice

All four increases can be attributed to the same thing: mononymous R&B singer Shanice.

The initial uptick, in 1985, corresponds to her appearances on the TV talent show Star Search in 1984. As 11-year-old Shanice Wilson, she competed — at least twice — in the junior female vocalist category. Her performances earned her $5,000 in prize money. (She later said, “When I got that $5,000, you would’ve thought we hit the lottery.”)

Shanice Wilson on "Star Search" in 1984
Shanice Wilson on “Star Search“

She also appeared on more than a dozen episodes of Kids Incorporated in 1984, but, surprisingly, she didn’t sing on the show — she was one of the backup dancers.

In 1988, following the release of Shanice’s initial singles the previous year, the name jumped into the girls’ top 1,000 for the first time ever. Shanice’s most successful early song, “(Baby Tell Me) Can You Dance,” reached #50 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in December of 1987.

The name’s highest-ever usage, in 1992, was fueled by Shanice’s biggest hit, “I Love Your Smile” (1991). The upbeat song was produced by Narada Michael Walden and stayed stuck at #2 on the charts for three weeks straight in February of 1992. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” category, but lost to a song by Chaka Khan.

Here’s the music video:

The name’s peak usage was also bolstered by the 1992 songs “Silent Prayer” and “Saving Forever for You,” which topped out at #31 and #4 (respectively) on the Hot 100.

The final uptick, in 1999, corresponds to Shanice’s last Hot 100-charting song, “When I Close My Eyes,” which climbed to #12 in April of 1999.

What are your thoughts on the name Shanice? Would you use it?

Sources:

Third image: Screenshot of Star Search

Where did the baby name Siedah come from in the 1980s?

American singer/songwriter Siedah Garrett
Siedah Garrett

The name Siedah was in the U.S. baby name data for a 10-year stretch, from 1984 to 1993, and saw peak usage in 1988:

  • 1989: 47 baby girls named Siedah
  • 1988: 70 baby girls named Siedah [peak]
  • 1987: 14 baby girls named Siedah
  • 1986: 10 baby girls named Siedah
  • 1985: 19 baby girls named Siedah
  • 1984: 7 baby girls named Siedah [debut]
  • unlisted

Where did it come from? And what caused that spike?

The influence was singer/songwriter Siedah (pronounced sie-ee-dah) Garrett, a protégé of hitmaker Quincy Jones.

She wrote/co-wrote hundreds of songs — including, most famously, Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” — and sang background vocals for a number of other artists (such as Madonna, Chaka Khan, Donna Summer, Wang Chung, Barbra Streisand, Peter Cetera, and Tamia).

Expectant parents wouldn’t have been aware of Siedah’s behind-the-scenes work, but they certainly would have been influenced by the hit songs that Siedah was featured on.

For instance, the name’s debut was likely due to Siedah’s 1984 duet “Don’t Look Any Further” [vid] with Dennis Edwards (formerly of The Temptations). The song reached #72 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in May.

And peak usage was no doubt fueled by an even bigger duet — this one with Michael Jackson himself. Their 1987 song “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” the lead single from the album Bad, reached #1 on the Hot 100 in September.

Siedah’s solo work may have also contributed to the name’s peak usage. Her own songs didn’t tend to perform well on the charts, but her most successful single, “K.I.S.S.I.N.G.” (1988), did manage to reach #97 on the Hot 100.

Siedah Garrett was born in Los Angeles in 1960 as Deborah Christine Garrett. She wasn’t a fan of her birth name:

It’s a pretty name but nobody called me Deborah. It was always abbreviated to Deb, Debbie, or DeeDee. I hated it.

At the age of thirteen, she adopted the name Siedah, which she defined as “shining and star-like.” (So far, I haven’t been able to verify this. The closest name I can find is the Arabic Sa’ida, which is the feminine form of Sa’id, meaning “happy, lucky.”)

What are your thoughts on the name Siedah?

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of Siedah Garrett from the music video for “K.I.S.S.I.N.G.”

What gave the baby name Shalamar a boost in the early 1980s?

The Shalamar album "Big Fun" (1979)
Shalamar album

Last week we talked about the name Shalimar, so this week let’s look at the similar name Shalamar, which saw its highest usage in 1980:

  • 1982: 15 baby girls and 12 baby boys named Shalamar
  • 1981: 17 baby girls and 10 baby boys named Shalamar
  • 1980: 26 baby girls and 20 baby boys named Shalamar [debut for boys]
  • 1979: unlisted
  • 1978: unlisted
  • 1977: 5 baby girls named Shalamar
  • 1976: unlisted

What’s the explanation?

American vocal/dance trio Shalamar.

The group — which featured future solo star Jody Watley, along with Howard Hewett and Jeffrey Daniel — started churning out hits regularly in 1979.

Over the next few years, two of the group’s singles earned Grammy nominations. (In early 1984, their song “Dead Giveaway” lost to “Ain’t Nobody” by Rufus & Chaka Khan.)

Interestingly, Shalamar had a name before it had any members. It was put together by Dick Griffey, the booking agent for TV’s Soul Train.

Which spelling do you prefer, Shalimar or Shalamar?

Sources: Shalamar – AllMusic, Shalamar – Wikipedia, Shalamar – Grammy.com, SSA