Dikembe
A masculine name of Lingala origin meaning "vigorous" or "powerful".
Name Census estimates that about 30 living Americans carry the first name Dikembe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dikembe today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dikembe births was 1995 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dikembe. 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 Dikembe. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
30
~ 1 in 11,425,145 Americans
Peak year
1995
11 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
1997 SSA rank
#7,499
Tracked since 1992
Popularity
Dikembe: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Dikembe 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 Dikembe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 31 | 0 | 31 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Dikembe
The name Dikembe has its origins in the Bantu languages of Central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is derived from the word "kembe," which means "victorious" or "triumphant" in several Bantu dialects, including Lingala and Kikongo.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dikembe can be found in the historical chronicles of the Kongo Kingdom, an ancient Central African empire that flourished between the 14th and 19th centuries. During this period, the name was associated with warriors and leaders who achieved significant military victories or overcame great challenges.
In the 16th century, a prominent Kongo nobleman named Dikembe Mutombo played a crucial role in the diplomatic relations between the Kongo Kingdom and the Kingdom of Portugal. His efforts to establish trade and cultural ties with the Portuguese were well-documented in the writings of Portuguese explorers and missionaries at the time.
Another notable figure bearing the name Dikembe was Dikembe Nsomi, a revered spiritual leader and healer who lived in the late 18th century. His teachings and practices related to traditional Kongo beliefs and customs were widely respected and followed by many communities in the region.
In more recent times, the name Dikembe gained international recognition through the basketball player Dikembe Mutombo, born in 1966 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Known for his defensive prowess and humanitarian efforts, Mutombo was a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and a recipient of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his philanthropic work.
Other notable individuals named Dikembe include Dikembe Disashi, a Congolese writer and poet who published several acclaimed works in the 1960s and 1970s, and Dikembe Mubiala, a prominent Congolese musician and composer known for his contributions to the Soukous genre in the late 20th century.
Throughout its history, the name Dikembe has carried connotations of strength, resilience, and triumph, reflecting the enduring spirit of the Central African cultures from which it originated.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Dikembe
People
Dikembe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dikembe 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
Dikembe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dikembe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dikembe 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 11,425,145 US residents.
Is Dikembe a common name?
We classify Dikembe as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 31 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dikembe most popular?
The single biggest year for Dikembe was 1995, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dikembe is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dikembe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dikembe in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.