Cherika
Feminine name derived from Cherokee, meaning "dove" or "fire starter".
Name Census estimates that about 268 living Americans carry the first name Cherika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cherika today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cherika births was 1980 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cherika. 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
268
~ 1 in 1,278,934 Americans
Peak year
1980
19 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2003 SSA rank
#14,228
Tracked since 1973
Census
Cherika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 256 people with the first name Cherika, which placed it at #32,700 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
#32,700
National first-name rank
People counted
256
256 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
78.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cherika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cherika is Black at 78.9%. The next largest groups are White (12.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Cherika 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 Cherika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American78.9% · 202
- White12.1% · 31
- Two or more races4.3% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 5
Popularity
Cherika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cherika from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 151 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cherika 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 Cherika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cherikas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Cherika
The name Cherika is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language of India, dating back to around the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "charika," which means "wanderer" or "traveler." This name was likely given to individuals who were known for their adventurous spirits and love of exploration.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cherika can be found in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, where it is mentioned as the name of a minor character. In this ancient text, Cherika is described as a skilled archer and warrior who fought alongside the Pandava brothers in the great battle of Kurukshetra.
During the Gupta Empire period in ancient India, which lasted from around 320 CE to 550 CE, the name Cherika gained popularity among the nobility and warrior class. It was seen as a name that embodied strength, courage, and a spirit of adventure.
In the 9th century CE, a famous female poet and scholar named Cherika Devi was renowned for her contributions to Sanskrit literature. She is credited with writing several works on philosophy, religion, and the arts, cementing the name's association with intellectual pursuits.
Another notable figure in history was Cherika Nath, a 12th-century mystic and spiritual leader who is said to have founded a sect of Nath yogis in northern India. His teachings and philosophies had a significant influence on the development of certain strands of Hinduism and yoga traditions.
During the Mughal Empire in India, which lasted from the 16th to the 19th century, the name Cherika was sometimes used by members of the ruling class. One such individual was Cherika Khan, a military commander who served under the Mughal Emperor Akbar and played a crucial role in several military campaigns.
While the name Cherika has its roots in ancient India, it has also been adopted and adapted in various other cultures and languages over time. However, its core meaning and association with travel, exploration, and a sense of adventure have remained consistent throughout its history.
People
Cherika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cherika 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
Cherika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cherika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 268 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cherika 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 1,278,934 US residents.
Is Cherika a common name?
We classify Cherika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 286 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cherika most popular?
The single biggest year for Cherika was 1980, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cherika 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 Cherika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 256 people with the name Cherika, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,700 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 Cherika 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 Cherika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cherika leans strongly female. 255 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 3 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Cherika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cherika is Black at 78.9%. The next largest groups are White (12.1%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Cherika most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Cherika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.9% (202 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 Cherika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cherika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cherika 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 Cherika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cherika 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 Cherika 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 Cherika as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Cherika, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.