Akeba
A feminine name of Western African origin meaning "vegetable soup".
Name Census estimates that about 24 living Americans carry the first name Akeba. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Akeba today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Akeba births was 1977 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Akeba. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Akeba. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
24
~ 1 in 14,281,431 Americans
Peak year
1977
6 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1979 SSA rank
#10,229
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Akeba: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Akeba 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 Akeba during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0 | 26 | 26 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Akeba
The name Akeba is believed to have originated from the Yoruba language spoken in West Africa, primarily in Nigeria. The Yoruba people are an ethnic group with a rich cultural heritage that dates back several centuries.
Akeba is thought to be derived from the Yoruba words "ake" meaning "brave" or "courageous" and "ba" meaning "to come." Therefore, the name Akeba could be interpreted as "the brave one who has come" or "the courageous arrival."
While the exact origins of the name are uncertain, it is possible that Akeba was used as a name for children born during times of conflict or struggle, as a symbol of strength and resilience.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Akeba dates back to the 17th century, when it was mentioned in the writings of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a Yoruba linguist and the first African Anglican bishop in Nigeria.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Akeba. One such person was Akeba Folarin (1920-2005), a Nigerian lawyer and politician who served as the Attorney General of Western Nigeria from 1960 to 1962.
Another prominent figure was Akeba Bagayoko (1953-2021), a Malian singer and musician who was a pioneer of the Desert Blues genre and performed with the renowned band Tinariwen.
In the 19th century, Akeba Diop (1826-1892) was a Senegalese scholar and educator who founded one of the first modern schools in Senegal and played a significant role in promoting education in West Africa.
The name Akeba also appeared in ancient Yoruba folklore and oral traditions, where it was associated with mythological figures and storytelling, further solidifying its cultural significance.
Lastly, Akeba Tana (1890-1963) was a notable Ethiopian educator and advocate for women's rights, who established several schools for girls and worked tirelessly to promote education and empowerment for women in her country.
People
Akeba + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Akeba 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
Akeba: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Akeba?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Akeba 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 14,281,431 US residents.
Is Akeba a common name?
We classify Akeba as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Akeba most popular?
The single biggest year for Akeba was 1977, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Akeba is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Akeba in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Akeba a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Akeba in the SSA data are female. 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 Akeba still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Akeba 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 Akeba 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Akeba?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.