Ikeem
An Arabic name meaning "the upright one" or "firm in belief".
Name Census estimates that about 357 living Americans carry the first name Ikeem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ikeem today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ikeem births was 1991 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ikeem. 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
357
~ 1 in 960,096 Americans
Peak year
1991
32 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,558
Tracked since 1985
Census
Ikeem in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 247 people with the first name Ikeem, which placed it at #33,475 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
#33,475
National first-name rank
People counted
247
247 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ikeem
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ikeem is Black at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Ikeem 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 Ikeem at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.1% · 225
- Two or more races4.0% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 6
- White1.6% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
Popularity
Ikeem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ikeem from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 171 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ikeem 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 Ikeem during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ikeems live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Ikeem, while South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ikeem
The name Ikeem has its origins in the ancient Yoruba language, spoken predominantly in present-day Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. The name is derived from the Yoruba word "ike," which means "honor" or "respect." It is believed to have emerged during the height of the Oyo Empire, which ruled over a vast region of modern-day Nigeria and neighboring areas between the 16th and 19th centuries.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ikeem can be traced back to the 17th century, when it appeared in various Yoruba oral traditions and historical accounts. One notable reference is found in the epic poem "Irokō Ìbàdàn," which tells the story of the founding of the city of Ibadan and mentions an influential warrior named Ikeem who played a pivotal role in the city's establishment.
Throughout the centuries, the name Ikeem has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded figures with this name was Ikeem Abayomi, a renowned Yoruba sculptor and woodcarver who lived in the late 18th century. His intricate carvings and sculptures, many of which depicted Yoruba deities and cultural scenes, are now housed in various museums and private collections around the world.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Ikeem Olawale, a Yoruba scholar and linguist who lived in the early 19th century. He made significant contributions to the study and preservation of the Yoruba language, publishing numerous works on Yoruba grammar, proverbs, and folklore.
In the realm of literature, Ikeem Soyinka stands out as a renowned Nigerian playwright and poet. Born in 1934, he was the first African writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, in recognition of his poetic oeuvre and his work promoting human rights and freedom of expression.
Another notable figure was Ikeem Adebayo, a Nigerian politician and diplomat who served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1962 to 1966. He played a crucial role in shaping Nigeria's foreign policy during the early years of its independence and was instrumental in establishing diplomatic relations with various countries.
Lastly, Ikeem Obasanjo, born in 1937, was a Nigerian military officer and statesman who served as the President of Nigeria from 1976 to 1979 and again from 1999 to 2007. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential political figures in modern Nigerian history, known for his efforts to promote democracy and economic development in the country.
People
Ikeem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ikeem as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ikeem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ikeem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 357 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ikeem 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 960,096 US residents.
Is Ikeem a common name?
We classify Ikeem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 365 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ikeem most popular?
The single biggest year for Ikeem was 1991, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ikeem is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ikeem in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 247 people with the name Ikeem, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,475 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 Ikeem 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 Ikeem?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ikeem appears almost entirely male. Of the 239 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Ikeem?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ikeem is Black at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Ikeem most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ikeem in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (225 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 Ikeem in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ikeem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ikeem 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.
Is Ikeem still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ikeem 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 Ikeem 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 Americans are named Ikeem?
See how many Americans are named Ikeem on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.