Biak
An Indonesian name meaning "natural" or "perfect".
Name Census estimates that about 78 living Americans carry the first name Biak. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 72.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Biak today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Biak births was 2014 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Biak. 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 Biak. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
78
~ 1 in 4,394,286 Americans
Peak year
2014
13 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,381
Tracked since 2013
Census
Biak in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,186 people with the first name Biak, which placed it at #10,986 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
#10,986
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,186 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
98.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Biak
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Biak is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.7%. The next largest groups are White (0.6%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Biak 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 Biak at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander98.7% · 1,170
- White0.6% · 7
- Two or more races0.5% · 6
- Black or African American0.2% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.1% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Biak
Biak is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 79 total registrations, 22 (27.8%) were male and 57 (72.2%) were female.
Biak as a male name
- Ranked #12,482 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2014 (6 births)
Biak as a female name
- Ranked #10,381 in 2020
- 9 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2015 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Biak on both sides of the split. Of the 1,184 people counted with this name, 626 were male (52.9%) and 558 were female (47.1%).
Popularity
Biak: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Biak from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 65 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Biak 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 Biak 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 Biak
The name Biak originates from the Biak language, which is spoken on the island of Biak off the northern coast of Papua, Indonesia. The name likely has roots in the Austronesian language family, which encompasses many languages spoken throughout the Malay Archipelago and the Pacific islands.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Biak can be found in the historical accounts of the Biak people, an ethnic group native to the island. The name was commonly given to children born in the region, often with cultural significance related to the island's history and traditions.
In the 16th century, during the Age of Discovery, European explorers and traders began to document encounters with the Biak people and their language. Some of the earliest written records mentioning the name Biak can be found in the journals and logs of these early voyages to the region.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Biak. One of the earliest recorded was Biak Insumbu, a prominent chief and leader of the Biak people in the 17th century. He played a crucial role in negotiating with Dutch colonizers and preserving the cultural traditions of his people.
Another significant figure was Biak Rumawak, a renowned navigator and expert in traditional Biak seafaring techniques in the 19th century. He was widely respected for his knowledge of the stars, currents, and weather patterns, which enabled safe voyages across the vast stretches of the Pacific Ocean.
In the 20th century, Biak Numfor was a prominent activist and advocate for the rights of the Biak people during the struggle for independence in Indonesia. He was a vocal leader in the movement to preserve the cultural heritage and autonomy of his people.
Biak Kamarau was a celebrated artist and sculptor from the island of Biak in the late 20th century. His intricate wood carvings and sculptures captured the essence of Biak culture and traditions, earning him recognition both within Indonesia and internationally.
Another notable figure was Biak Sunarti, a renowned educator and advocate for women's rights in Papua. She dedicated her life to promoting education and empowerment among the Biak community and played a pivotal role in establishing schools and educational initiatives in the region.
People
Biak + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Biak as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Biak: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Biak?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 78 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Biak 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 4,394,286 US residents.
Is Biak a common name?
We classify Biak as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 79 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Biak most popular?
The single biggest year for Biak was 2014, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Biak is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Biak in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,186 people with the name Biak, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,986 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 Biak 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 Biak?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Biak on both sides of the split. Of the 1,184 people counted with this name, 626 were male (52.9%) and 558 were female (47.1%). 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 Biak?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Biak is Asian/Pacific Islander at 98.7%. The next largest groups are White (0.6%) and Two or More Races (0.5%). 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 Biak most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Biak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.7% (1,170 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 Biak in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Biak a female name?
Yes, 72.2% of people registered as Biak 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 Biak still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Biak 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 Biak 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 Biak?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Biak at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.