Amaka
African name meaning "beauty is greater than wealth".
Name Census estimates that about 105 living Americans carry the first name Amaka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Amaka today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Amaka births was 1996 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Amaka. 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 Amaka with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
105
~ 1 in 3,264,327 Americans
Peak year
1996
9 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2021 SSA rank
#15,411
Tracked since 1982
Census
Amaka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 409 people with the first name Amaka, which placed it at #23,820 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
#23,820
National first-name rank
People counted
409
409 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amaka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amaka is Black at 93.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Amaka 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 Amaka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.4% · 382
- White2.9% · 12
- Two or more races2.4% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Amaka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Amaka from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 49 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Amaka 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 Amaka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Amaka
The name Amaka is of Igbo origin, originating from the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. It is a compound name derived from the words "ama" meaning "beautiful" and "ka" meaning "to be greater than something." The combination of these two words gives the name Amaka the meaning of "beautiful is greater than," implying that beauty is greater or more valuable than other things.
The Igbo people have a rich cultural heritage that dates back centuries, and the name Amaka has been in use for a very long time. It is believed to have first appeared in written records as early as the 15th century, during the height of the Nri Kingdom, one of the oldest and most influential Igbo states.
While the name Amaka does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been documented in various historical records and accounts of Igbo culture and traditions. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the writings of the Portuguese explorer João Afonso Aveiro, who documented his encounters with the Igbo people in the late 15th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Amaka. One of the earliest recorded was Amaka Nwanyeruwa (c. 1550-1620), a renowned Igbo trader and diplomat who played a crucial role in facilitating trade and diplomatic relations between the Igbo people and various European powers during the 16th century.
Another notable Amaka was Amaka Okoye (1734-1807), a influential Igbo leader and warrior who led her people in battles against the British during the late 18th century. She was known for her bravery and strategic prowess, and her exploits were celebrated in Igbo folklore and oral traditions.
In more recent history, Amaka Igwe (1863-1952) was a prominent educator and advocate for women's rights in colonial Nigeria. She established several schools and worked tirelessly to promote education and empowerment for girls and women in her community.
Amaka Nwaokolo (1912-1995) was a renowned Igbo artist and sculptor, known for her intricate and detailed works depicting various aspects of Igbo culture and traditions. Her sculptures and carvings can be found in museums and galleries around the world.
Lastly, Amaka Akachi (1976-present) is a contemporary Nigerian author and writer who has gained recognition for her powerful and insightful novels exploring themes of identity, culture, and the complexities of modern African life.
People
Amaka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Amaka 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
Amaka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Amaka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 105 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Amaka 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 3,264,327 US residents.
Is Amaka a common name?
We classify Amaka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 107 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Amaka most popular?
The single biggest year for Amaka was 1996, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Amaka is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Amaka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 409 people with the name Amaka, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,820 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 Amaka 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 Amaka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Amaka leans strongly female. 403 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 7 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Amaka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Amaka is Black at 93.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). 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 Amaka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Amaka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (382 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 Amaka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Amaka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Amaka 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 Amaka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Amaka 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 Amaka 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 many people have the name Amaka?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Amaka, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.