Charmeka
A feminine name with uncertain origins, potentially blending "charm" and "Meka".
Name Census estimates that about 98 living Americans carry the first name Charmeka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Charmeka today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Charmeka births was 1981 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Charmeka. 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 Charmeka. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
98
~ 1 in 3,497,493 Americans
Peak year
1981
10 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1992 SSA rank
#8,864
Tracked since 1976
Census
Charmeka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 115 people with the first name Charmeka, which placed it at #51,185 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
#51,185
National first-name rank
People counted
115
115 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Charmeka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charmeka is Black at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Charmeka 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 Charmeka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.8% · 109
- Two or more races2.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Popularity
Charmeka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Charmeka from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 57 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Charmeka remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Charmeka 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 Charmeka 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 Charmeka
The name Charmeka has its origins rooted in the ancient Akkadian language, which was spoken in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 2500 BCE. It is derived from the Akkadian words "char," meaning "to protect" or "to guard," and "meka," which roughly translates to "precious one." This suggests that the name Charmeka was initially bestowed upon individuals with the intention of safeguarding their well-being and acknowledging their value.
Early references to the name Charmeka can be found in cuneiform inscriptions on clay tablets from the city of Ur, one of the oldest civilizations in Mesopotamia. These tablets document various aspects of daily life, including the names of individuals employed in various trades and professions.
One notable figure who carried the name Charmeka was a high priestess who served in the temple of the moon goddess Nanna during the reign of King Shulgi of the Third Dynasty of Ur, around 2094-2047 BCE. Her name is recorded on a dedicatory inscription on a temple wall, where she is praised for her devotion and piety.
In later centuries, the name Charmeka appeared sporadically throughout various regions influenced by the Akkadian culture, such as Syria and parts of modern-day Turkey. One individual of note was Charmeka of Palmyra, a wealthy merchant and philanthropist who lived in the 3rd century CE. Historical records indicate that she generously funded the construction of public baths and aqueducts in her city.
During the Middle Ages, the name Charmeka resurfaced in the annals of the Byzantine Empire. A notable bearer was Charmeka Komnene, a noblewoman and writer who lived in the 12th century CE. She is best known for her work "The Alexiad," a biographical account of her father's life, which provides valuable insights into the Byzantine court and military campaigns of the era.
In more recent times, the name Charmeka gained recognition through Charmeka al-Khouri, a pioneering Syrian educator and women's rights activist who lived from 1892 to 1965. She was instrumental in establishing schools for girls in Damascus and advocating for gender equality in education.
While the name Charmeka has maintained a presence throughout history, its usage has been relatively rare compared to other names from the region. However, its enduring legacy serves as a testament to the rich cultural heritage of the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations and the enduring impact of their language and traditions.
People
Charmeka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Charmeka as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Charmeka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Charmeka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 98 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Charmeka 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 3,497,493 US residents.
Is Charmeka a common name?
We classify Charmeka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 104 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Charmeka most popular?
The single biggest year for Charmeka was 1981, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Charmeka is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Charmeka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 115 people with the name Charmeka, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,185 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 Charmeka 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 Charmeka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Charmeka appears almost entirely female. Of the 112 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Charmeka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Charmeka is Black at 94.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.7%). 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 Charmeka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Charmeka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.8% (109 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 Charmeka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Charmeka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Charmeka 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 Charmeka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Charmeka 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 Charmeka 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 share the name Charmeka?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.