The origin of most Anglo forenames is lost to antiquity. Many are based on Biblical characters, but even then the origins are unknown.
The first name Shaniqua didn’t become widespread until the late 1980s. Before that time, it was practically unknown. Distinctly African-American names are a fairly recent phenomenon, with its origins in the 1960s; before then, the names of African-Americans really didn’t vary much from modal Anglo names. It’s impossible to know who was the first person named David, Edward or Mary, but with a very recent vintage, it’s likely that the first woman named Shaniqua is alive and well. Who is she?
This may be true for the name “Shaniqua” in particular, but many other given names that in the US are considered “African-American” are actually standard Arabic names, whose origins are also ancient. E.g., “Jamal” and “Rashida”.
Really, I don’t want this to be a “why do black people something something something?” or “unusual names” thread. The moment that happens, I hope a mod closes it.
Considering how a relatively common name rose out of thin air, I’m just curious as to whether the first person to have that name is known by someone, or that the person was mentioned in some article on children’s names.
Are you interested in Shaniqua in particular or recently created but popular names?
The whole “I want my baby’s name to be unique” thing has become fairly popular lately. And then for every parent like that there are some more with open ears for names to copy. As soon as a name reaches critical mass, it then falls in the hands of parents who want popular names and there you go.
According to the Social Security Death Index, the earliest “Shaniqua” (who is now deceased, of course) I could find was born in 1975. “Sheniqua” is 1979. “Shanique,” 1972. “Shanequa,” 1979.
edit: Of course, that doesn’t answer you question about live Shaniquas, but should give you a ballbark idea of what time period to look for.
I cacn find a women named Shaniqua Rene Johnson as being the (adult, probably) daughter of a 47-year-old lady who’s obituary appeared in the Port Arthur(TX) News in 1975. FWIW, the deceased mother was originally from Evergreen, LA. but had lived in Port Arthur for the last 29 years of her life.
I don’t think this is entirely true. The Anglo-Saxon roots of many English given names seem to be understood, for example –
Arnold - Arenvald
Edward - Eadweard
Robert - Hrodebert
Roger - Hrothgar
– and so on. And furthermore, the meanings of the roots or components of many of these names also seem to be known to scholars of Anglo-Saxon languages. “alf” means “elfin”; “helm” means “protection”; “gar” means “spear”; “beorht” means “bright”; “ric” means “ruler”; “stan” means “stone”; “wald” means “forest”; “wynn” means “friend”; “wulf” means “wolf”; “ead” means “wealthy”; “weard” means “protector” and so on.
We may know the meanings of most names, and their origins in other languages, for instance Arnold being a derivative of Arenvald, but when did “Arenvald” first start being used as a name? That is lost to history.
Shaniqua isn’t a derivative of Sean, Shane, Cheryl, Charlotte or any other common Anglo name. It literally popped out of nowhere. All names had to have a person that was the first with it as a label. We don’t know who the first Arenvald, or some even earlier derivative of Arenvald, was.
Really, recently created names that are popular.
FWIW, I’m only using “Shaniqua” because it seems like the most common example of a modern, recently coined name that has achieved widespread popularity. I’m at a loss for other commonly used new names; maybe “Sunshine” and “Harmony” among children born in the 1960s, or post-Splash “Madison” as a girl’s name.
Was that the first mention of the name in print media? We could be on to something.
Seán, the Irish form of John, is popular and has a wide number of derivatives. Spelling is often phonetic (Shawn, Shane), and there are feminine forms (Shawna).
It is not uncommon for a new name to be created by combining the parents’ names… I have a friend who was named this way, also African-American, and I’ve seen it in other cases too.
“Shaniqua” looks like a combination of Shan + Monica / Monique. I’m going to hypothesize that the first Shaniqua was the child of a Shawn and a Monique.