Adeleke
A Nigerian name meaning "crown befits the child".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Adeleke. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Adeleke today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Adeleke births was 2000 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Adeleke. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Adeleke with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Adeleke. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2000
5 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2000 SSA rank
#10,378
Tracked since 2000
Census
Adeleke in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 217 people with the first name Adeleke, which placed it at #36,520 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#36,520
National first-name rank
People counted
217
217 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adeleke
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adeleke is Black at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Adeleke described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Adeleke at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.9% · 206
- White1.8% · 4
- Two or more races1.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 1
Popularity
Adeleke: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Adeleke by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Adeleke during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Adeleke
The name Adeleke originates from the Yoruba language of West Africa, predominantly spoken in Nigeria. It is a compound name derived from the Yoruba words "Ade," meaning "crown" or "royalty," and "Leke," meaning "to possess" or "to own." The name, therefore, translates to "one who possesses the crown" or "owner of royalty."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Adeleke can be traced back to the 16th century during the height of the Oyo Empire, one of the most influential Yoruba kingdoms in present-day southwestern Nigeria. The name was commonly given to male children born into royal families or those with close ties to the ruling class.
One of the earliest documented historical figures bearing the name Adeleke was Adeleke Ajibola, a prominent Yoruba chief and military leader who lived in the late 17th century. He was known for his bravery and strategic prowess in defending the Oyo Empire against neighboring kingdoms.
Another notable figure was Adeleke Adedoyin, a renowned Yoruba scholar and philosopher who lived in the early 19th century. He was widely respected for his extensive knowledge of Yoruba culture, history, and traditions, and his writings served as essential resources for understanding the Yoruba way of life.
In the 20th century, Adeleke Adefulire (1905-1994) was a prominent Nigerian politician and activist who played a significant role in the country's struggle for independence from British colonial rule. He served as a member of the Western Regional House of Assembly and was a vocal advocate for social and economic reforms.
Another influential figure was Adeleke Mamora (1920-2003), a Nigerian academic and administrator who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, one of Nigeria's most prestigious institutions of higher learning. He was widely respected for his contributions to education and his efforts in promoting academic excellence.
More recently, Adeleke Adeyemo (born 1981) is a Nigerian-American economist and government official who currently serves as the United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. He has held various leadership positions in both the private and public sectors, including serving as the president of the Truman National Security Project.
Throughout history, the name Adeleke has been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions to various fields, including politics, academia, literature, and military affairs, reflecting the name's regal origins and the high esteem in which it is held within Yoruba culture.
People
Adeleke + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Adeleke as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Adeleke: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Adeleke?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Adeleke going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Adeleke a common name?
We classify Adeleke as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Adeleke most popular?
The single biggest year for Adeleke was 2000, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Adeleke is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Adeleke in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 217 people with the name Adeleke, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,520 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Adeleke in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Adeleke?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Adeleke leans strongly male. 205 people counted with this name were male (95.3%), compared with 10 female bearers (4.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Adeleke?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adeleke is Black at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.8%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Adeleke most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Adeleke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (206 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Adeleke in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Adeleke a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Adeleke in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Adeleke still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Adeleke in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Adeleke can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Adeleke?
Find out how many people have the name Adeleke on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.