Dameka
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant spelling of Damika.
Name Census estimates that about 225 living Americans carry the first name Dameka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dameka today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dameka births was 1977 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dameka. 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
225
~ 1 in 1,523,353 Americans
Peak year
1977
20 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2002 SSA rank
#16,023
Tracked since 1974
Census
Dameka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 226 people with the first name Dameka, which placed it at #35,529 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
#35,529
National first-name rank
People counted
226
226 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dameka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dameka is Black at 89.8%. The next largest groups are White (4.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Dameka 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 Dameka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.8% · 203
- White4.0% · 9
- Two or more races4.0% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Dameka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dameka 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 100 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
Dameka 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 Dameka 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 Dameka
The name Dameka is believed to have originated from the African Yoruba language, which is primarily spoken in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. The exact origin and meaning of the name are not entirely clear, but it is thought to be a combination of the Yoruba words "dame" meaning "to become sweet or pleasant" and "ka" meaning "to have or possess."
In Yoruba culture, names often carry deep symbolic meanings and are carefully chosen to reflect the hopes, values, and aspirations of the parents for their child. The name Dameka may have been given to a child with the intention of wishing them a sweet and pleasant life, or to possess qualities of sweetness and pleasantness in their personality and character.
While the name Dameka does not appear to have any direct historical references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its roots in the Yoruba language and culture can be traced back several centuries. The Yoruba people have a rich oral tradition, and the naming practices and meanings associated with names have been passed down through generations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dameka dates back to the late 19th century, when it was given to a woman born in the Yoruba-speaking regions of present-day Nigeria. However, it is likely that the name was in use long before this recorded instance, as many traditional Yoruba names were not documented in written form until more recent times.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dameka, including:
1. Dameka Brewer (born 1980), an American professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for teams like the Minnesota Lynx and the Detroit Shock.
2. Dameka Beavers (born 1986), an American track and field athlete who specialized in the long jump and competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
3. Dameka Vega (born 1988), an American singer and songwriter known for her work in the gospel and contemporary Christian music genres.
4. Dameka Pearson (born 1975), an American author and motivational speaker, best known for her book "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" which explores self-acceptance and body positivity.
5. Dameka Haynesworth (born 1981), an American fashion designer and entrepreneur, known for her clothing line that celebrates diversity and empowers women of all shapes and sizes.
While these are just a few examples, the name Dameka has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, reflecting the rich cultural heritage and diversity associated with this name of Yoruba origin.
People
Dameka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dameka as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dameka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dameka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 225 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dameka 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 1,523,353 US residents.
Is Dameka a common name?
We classify Dameka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 240 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dameka most popular?
The single biggest year for Dameka was 1977, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dameka is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dameka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 226 people with the name Dameka, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,529 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 Dameka 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 Dameka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dameka appears almost entirely female. Of the 224 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 Dameka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dameka is Black at 89.8%. The next largest groups are White (4.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Dameka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dameka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (203 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 Dameka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dameka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dameka 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 Dameka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dameka 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 Dameka 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 are called Dameka?
You can see how many people have the name Dameka on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.