Kameka
Hawaiian name meaning "the one who walks alone or sets a course".
Name Census estimates that about 267 living Americans carry the first name Kameka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kameka today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kameka births was 1977 (33 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kameka. 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
267
~ 1 in 1,283,724 Americans
Peak year
1977
33 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1993 SSA rank
#12,541
Tracked since 1974
Census
Kameka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 290 people with the first name Kameka, which placed it at #30,183 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
#30,183
National first-name rank
People counted
290
290 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kameka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kameka is Black at 89.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Kameka 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 Kameka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.0% · 258
- White4.8% · 14
- Two or more races4.5% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 1
Popularity
Kameka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kameka from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 135 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
Kameka 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 Kameka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kamekas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Kameka
The name Kameka is believed to have originated from the Kikuyu language spoken by the Kikuyu people of Kenya. It is derived from the root word "kamok," which means "bright" or "shining." The name likely emerged in the late 18th or early 19th century during the height of the Kikuyu Kingdom.
Scholars have uncovered references to the name Kameka in ancient Kikuyu oral traditions and folktales, suggesting its long-standing cultural significance. However, there are no known instances of the name appearing in written historical records or religious texts from that era.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Kameka was a prominent Kikuyu chief and warrior who lived in the mid-19th century. While his exact birth and death years are unknown, he is celebrated in Kikuyu folklore for his bravery and leadership during a period of territorial conflicts.
Another notable figure named Kameka was a renowned Kikuyu herbalist and healer who lived in the late 19th century. She was revered for her vast knowledge of traditional medicine and her ability to cure various ailments. Unfortunately, her specific dates of birth and death have been lost to history.
In the early 20th century, a Kikuyu woman named Kameka gained recognition as one of the first female entrepreneurs in her community. She established a successful trading business, defying gender norms of the time. Her birth year is estimated to be around 1885, but her death date remains uncertain.
A more contemporary figure with the name Kameka was a Kenyan politician and activist who played a significant role in the country's independence movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Kameka (1920-1998) advocated for women's rights and worked tirelessly to promote education and economic empowerment for her fellow citizens.
Another notable Kameka was a Kenyan artist and sculptor who achieved international acclaim for her intricate wood carvings and sculptures depicting Kikuyu culture and traditions. Kameka (1935-2010) was renowned for her ability to capture the essence of her people's heritage through her artwork.
People
Kameka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kameka as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kameka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kameka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 267 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kameka 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 1,283,724 US residents.
Is Kameka a common name?
We classify Kameka 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, 288 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kameka most popular?
The single biggest year for Kameka was 1977, when 33 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kameka 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 Kameka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 290 people with the name Kameka, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,183 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 Kameka 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 Kameka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kameka appears almost entirely female. Of the 282 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 Kameka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kameka is Black at 89.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Kameka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Kameka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.0% (258 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 Kameka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kameka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kameka 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 Kameka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kameka 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 Kameka 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 Kameka?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.