Askia
Commander of warriors in the West African Songhai Empire.
Name Census estimates that about 318 living Americans carry the first name Askia. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Askia today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Askia births was 1979 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Askia. 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.
People living today
318
~ 1 in 1,077,844 Americans
Peak year
1979
24 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,521
Tracked since 1969
Census
Askia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 332 people with the first name Askia, which placed it at #27,518 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
#27,518
National first-name rank
People counted
332
332 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
83.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Askia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Askia is Black at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.0%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Askia 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 Askia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American83.1% · 276
- Two or more races6.0% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 19
- White4.2% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 3
Popularity
Askia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Askia from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 124 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Askia 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 Askia 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 Askia
The name Askia originated from the Songhay Empire, which was a medieval West African empire that existed from the 14th to the 16th century. It was centered in the region of the middle Niger River in what is now central Mali. The name is derived from the Songhay language and is believed to have been a title or honorific for the rulers or emperors of the Songhay Empire.
One of the most famous individuals to bear this name was Askia Mohammad I, also known as Muhammad Ture or Muhammad Abubakar Ture. He was the founder and first ruler of the Songhay Empire, reigning from 1493 to 1528. He was a devout Muslim and is credited with spreading Islam throughout the region during his reign.
Another notable figure with the name Askia was Askia Ismail, who ruled the Songhay Empire from 1537 to 1539. He was a fierce warrior and is known for his military campaigns against the neighboring Mossi people.
In the 16th century, there was also an Askia Daoud, who ruled the Songhay Empire from 1549 to 1582. He is remembered for his efforts to rebuild and strengthen the empire after a period of decline.
The name Askia can also be found in various historical texts and records related to the Songhay Empire and the broader history of West Africa. For instance, the famous Moroccan traveler and scholar Ibn Battuta mentioned the Askia rulers in his accounts of his travels through the region in the 14th century.
Another significant figure with the name Askia was Askia al-Hajj Muhammad, who ruled the Songhay Empire from 1582 to 1586. He is known for his efforts to promote education and scholarship, as well as his patronage of the arts and literature.
While the name Askia has its roots in the Songhay Empire and West African history, it has also been used by individuals from other parts of the world, particularly in Muslim communities, due to its association with Islamic rulers and the spread of Islam in the region.
People
Askia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Askia 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
Askia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Askia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 318 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Askia 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 1,077,844 US residents.
Is Askia a common name?
We classify Askia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 334 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Askia most popular?
The single biggest year for Askia was 1979, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Askia is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Askia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 332 people with the name Askia, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,518 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 Askia 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 Askia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Askia leans strongly male. 309 people counted with this name were male (91.2%), compared with 30 female bearers (8.8%). 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 Askia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Askia is Black at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.0%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Askia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Askia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.1% (276 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 Askia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Askia a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Askia 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 Askia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Askia 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 Askia 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 Askia?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Askia at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.