Shaniqua is a female given name in the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

, originating in the

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

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 Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw (born August 9, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She announced her retirement from the Los Angeles Sparks on June 11, 2007, though she ev ...

(born 1977), American WNBA player *

Chanequa Walker-Barnes Chanequa Walker-Barnes is an American theologian and psychologist. Her research as a clinical psychologist has focused on African American health disparities, and as a womanist theologian she has written about the myth of the "StrongBlackWoman" an ...

, American theologian and psychologist * Chanique Rabe (born 1997), Namibian model and fashion designer *

Linda Miles Linda M. Miles (born August 28, 1978) is an American former professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager. She worked under the ring name Shaniqua for World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) WWE SmackDown, SmackDown brand between 2002 an ...

(born 1978), American professional wrestler who went by the name Shaniqua *

Shanica Knowles Shanica Knowles (born November 17, 1990), also known mononymously as Shanica, is an American actress, singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, known for her roles as Amber Addison on ''Hannah Montana'', Shauna Keaton on ''Jump In!'', and Vanessa ...

(born 1990), American actress and singer *

Shaniqua Okwok Shaniqua Okwok is a British actress. She is best known for her roles as Maia in Paramount+ series '' The Flatshare'' (2022) and Dominique in the Sky Max series '' Wolfe'' (2021). Okwok has also made appearances as Solly Babatunde in ''It's a Si ...

, British actress *

Shaniqua Tompkins Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

, former partner of rapper 50 Cent * Shanique Dessing (born 2000), Dutch footballer *

Shanique Speight Shanique Davis Speight (born November 14, 1978) is an American Democratic Party politicians who represents the 29th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2018, succeeding Blonnie R. Watson, who chose not to run for ree ...

(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 Shenique Fortune is an Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party politician, who was appointed to the Senate of Antigua and Barbuda for the Barbuda Council The Barbuda Council is a local authority that manages the internal affairs on the island of Ba ...

, 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 Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

English language professor. According to ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' 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

{{given name Feminine given names African-American feminine given names Stereotypes of black women Stereotypes of African Americans

People with the name Shaniqua or close variations

Other uses

See also

References