The baby name Shahmat is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced shah-mat (SHAH-maht); IPA: /ʃɑːˈmɑːt/ (Persian), /ʃɑːˈmæt/ (Anglicized).
The baby name Shahmat is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced shah-mat (SHAH-maht); IPA: /ʃɑːˈmɑːt/ (Persian), /ʃɑːˈmæt/ (Anglicized).
Shahmat is Persian, Urdu in Origin.
With roots in Classical Persian, Shahmat fuses shāh “king” and māt “defeated, helpless,” the phrase that became English checkmate via Arabic (shāh māt), Old French (eschec mat), and other European tongues. Despite a popular folk rendering as “the king is dead,” most linguists read māt as “stymied” or “overcome,” yielding the meaning “the king is at a loss.” The name therefore carries connotations of strategy, finality, and mastery.
As a given name Shahmat is rare and modern, chosen in Persianate and Arabic-speaking communities and by chess enthusiasts worldwide; it is typically masculine but works as unisex. Variants reflect transliteration and spacing: Shahmaat, Shah-Mat, Shah Māt/Shāh Māt; Turkish Şahmat/Şah Mat are parallel forms. Related elements include Shah, Shahin, and Shahzad. Historical usage centers on the chess term, attested from early Islamic-era texts on shatranj.
Shahmat is a rare find. Across 8 countries, we found 19 recorded uses of it.
Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.
| Country | Gender | Year | Rank | Born | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BG | Boys | 0 | #220 | 1 | 3,850 |
| BD | 0 | #241 | 1 | 5,992 | |
| SG | 0 | #282 | 1 | 11,010 | |
| BD | Boys | 0 | #605 | 1 | 10,045 |
| OM | Boys | 0 | #918 | 1 | 17,948 |
| IN | Boys | 0 | #1,039 | 1 | 16,750 |
| AE | Boys | 0 | #1,143 | 1 | 22,615 |
| MY | Boys | 0 | #1,178 | 5 | 25,439 |
| SA | Boys | 0 | #1,685 | 7 | 28,008 |
Shahmat is popular in 8 countries — most recent births per country:
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