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Home › Baby Names Directory › Shabazz

Shabazz

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Shabazz

Pronounced shuh-BAZ /ʃəˈbæz/Medium

Meaning: Shabazz is best known from the 'Tribe of Shabazz', an ancestral people described in Nation of Islam teaching, and from the surname el-Shabazz adopted by Malcolm X and his family. The word itself is commonly traced to Persian 'shah baz', a royal or noble falcon. As a first name it honors that African-American heritage.Low

In 30 seconds: Shabazz is an African-American name drawn from the 'Tribe of Shabazz' in Nation of Islam tradition and the family name of Malcolm X. It is usually linked to a Persian phrase for a royal falcon.
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Origin LowArabic, Persian
MeaningShabazz is best known from the 'Tribe of Shabazz', an ancestral people described in Nation of Islam teaching, and from the surname el-Shabazz adopted by Malcolm X and his family. The word itself is commonly traced to Persian 'shah baz', a royal or noble falcon. As a first name it honors that African-American heritage.
U.S. rank (2023)#13848 ↘ Falling
2023 U.S. births5 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)
Peak year1992
Total births (all-time)≈ 286

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 199219712023

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Shabazz entered American use largely through the Nation of Islam, whose teaching speaks of an original 'Tribe of Shabazz', and through Malcolm X, who took the name el-Shabazz. The term is generally traced to Persian shah baz, a royal falcon, and it carries a deliberate sense of heritage and dignity.

As a given name it appears among African-American families from the nineteen-seventies onward, but only a few dozen boys a year at most ever received it. It reads less as a fashion than as a statement of identity and lineage.

Did you know? The name echoes el-Shabazz, the surname Malcolm X took after his pilgrimage to Mecca, and points back to the 'Tribe of Shabazz' described in Nation of Islam teaching.
Overall data confidence 50%
References - Shabazz / Tribe of Shabazz — Nation of Islam heritage; Persian shah baz; el-Shabazz

Variations

ShabazShabbazShahbaz

Nicknames

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If you like Shabazz…

Malik— an Arabic-rooted name popular in the same African-American naming tradition
Jamal— a widely used Arabic name of the same cultural moment
Rashad— an Arabic name chosen by African-American families of the era
Kareem— an Arabic virtue name from the same heritage current

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Shabazz mean?

Shabazz comes from the 'Tribe of Shabazz' in Nation of Islam tradition and is often tied to Persian 'shah baz', a royal falcon.

How do you pronounce Shabazz?

It's said shuh-BAZ /ʃəˈbæz/.

Is Shabazz a boy or girl name?

Shabazz is used as a boy's name.

How popular is Shabazz?

Shabazz has always been a rare given name in the United States, chosen mainly as a marker of African-American heritage since the nineteen-seventies.

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