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Shaniqua

Female given name

Female given name

FieldValue
nameShaniqua
pronunciation
genderFemale
meaningNone (invented)
regionUnited States (African-American community)
languageEnglish
alternative spellingChanequa, Chineequa, Shanequa, Shenequa, Sheniqua
variant formsChanique, Shanica, Shanique, Shenique, Shinique
related namesAfrican-American names

Shaniqua is a female given name, originating in the African-American community, gaining popularity beginning in the 1970s and peaking in the early 1990s. It is often given as the prototypical example of a "ghetto name", i.e. a name likely to belong to low-income African-Americans, and has been used in racism-related incidents to stereotype "rude" Black women.

People with the name Shaniqua or close variations

  • Chamique Holdsclaw (born 1977), American WNBA player
  • Chanequa Walker-Barnes, American theologian and psychologist
  • Chanique Rabe (born 1997), Namibian model and fashion designer
  • Linda Miles (born 1978), American professional wrestler who went by the name Shaniqua
  • Shanica Knowles (born 1990), American actress and singer
  • Shaniqua Okwok, British actress
  • Shaniqua Tompkins, former partner of rapper 50 Cent
  • Shanique Dessing (born 2000), Dutch footballer
  • Shanique Speight (born 1978), American politician
  • Sheniqua Ferguson (born 1989), Bahamian sprinter
  • Sheniqua "Nikki" Greene (born 1990), American basketball player
  • Sheniqua Thomas (born 1998), Barbadian netball player
  • Shenique Fortune, Antigua and Barbuda politician
  • Shinique Smith (born 1971), American visual artist

Other uses

  • "Shaniqua" (song), a 2001 hip-hop song that achieved minor commercial success.
  • The name was the namesake of the 2016 documentary Searching for Shaniqua, directed by an Old Dominion University English language professor. According to Vibe magazine journalist Shenequa Golding, the documentary was well-received, exploring the stereotypes surrounding this name often given to Black children and the difficulties faced by those bearing the name. It won the 2016 HBO Best Documentary at Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival.

References

References

  1. "Shaniqua - Baby Name Meaning, Origin and Popularity".
  2. "New Doc 'Searching For Shaniqua: What's in a Name?' Will Tackle Impact of Names (Fundraising) - Blavity".
  3. Szilagyi, Jessica. (2023-04-25). "Picture with Decorated Trash Bin Prompts Apology, Diversity Training in Jenkins County".
  4. (2008-06-28). "Blacks given ‘ghetto’ names in SoCal yearbook".
  5. (2021-08-24). "Racist 'Shaniqua' postings show Salinas students stomping on Black doll".
  6. (2010-01-25). "LI NAACP head chastises Levy for 'Shaniqua' remark".
  7. (2016-11-18). "'Your name's Shaniqua?' How a name can affect your life.".
  8. Golding, Shenequa. (2016-09-17). "‘Searching For Shaniqua’ Examines Names And Stereotypes".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

feminine-given-names african-american-feminine-given-names stereotypes-of-black-women stereotypes-of-african-american-people
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