Demeka
A feminine name of Amharic origin meaning "very kind or pleasant."
Name Census estimates that about 253 living Americans carry the first name Demeka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Demeka today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Demeka births was 1975 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Demeka. 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
253
~ 1 in 1,354,760 Americans
Peak year
1975
24 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1999 SSA rank
#15,021
Tracked since 1972
Census
Demeka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 255 people with the first name Demeka, which placed it at #32,783 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
#32,783
National first-name rank
People counted
255
255 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
87.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Demeka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Demeka is Black at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and White (3.9%). 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 Demeka 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 Demeka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American87.5% · 223
- Two or more races4.3% · 11
- White3.9% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Popularity
Demeka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Demeka from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 141 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
Demeka 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 Demeka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Demekas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Demeka
The name Demeka has its origins in ancient Greek culture, believed to have emerged around the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Greek word "demos," meaning "the people," and "eka," meaning "from." This suggests that the name might have been given to individuals who came from or were closely connected with the common people.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Demeka can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who mentions a woman by that name in his work "The Histories." However, little is known about this individual beyond the mention of her name.
In the realm of ancient Greek mythology, there is a figure named Demeka who was said to be a nymph associated with the goddess Artemis. She was believed to be a protector of young girls and was often invoked during coming-of-age rituals.
During the Byzantine era, which spanned from the 4th to the 15th century CE, the name Demeka gained some popularity among the Greek-speaking population of the Byzantine Empire. One notable figure from this period was Demeka of Thessalonica, a scholar and philosopher who lived in the 11th century. She was renowned for her writings on ethics and virtue.
In the 14th century, there was a prominent figure named Demeka Palaiologina, who was a member of the Byzantine imperial family. She was known for her philanthropic efforts and her support of the arts and culture.
Another historical figure bearing the name Demeka was a Greek poet from the 16th century, known as Demeka Rhallis. She gained recognition for her lyrical works, which often explored themes of love, nature, and the human experience.
It is worth noting that while the name Demeka has ancient Greek roots, it has been adopted and used in various cultures over the centuries, particularly in regions with Greek cultural influence.
People
Demeka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Demeka 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
Demeka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Demeka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 253 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Demeka 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 1,354,760 US residents.
Is Demeka a common name?
We classify Demeka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 273 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Demeka most popular?
The single biggest year for Demeka was 1975, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Demeka is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Demeka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 255 people with the name Demeka, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,783 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 Demeka 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 Demeka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Demeka leans strongly female. 243 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 5 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Demeka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Demeka is Black at 87.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.3%) and White (3.9%). 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 Demeka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Demeka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.5% (223 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 Demeka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Demeka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Demeka 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 Demeka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Demeka 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 Demeka 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 Demeka as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Demeka, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.