Markeem
An Arabic masculine name meaning "generous" or "noble".
Name Census estimates that about 144 living Americans carry the first name Markeem. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Markeem today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Markeem births was 1992 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Markeem. 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
144
~ 1 in 2,380,238 Americans
Peak year
1992
14 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,732
Tracked since 1984
Census
Markeem in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 132 people with the first name Markeem, which placed it at #48,390 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
#48,390
National first-name rank
People counted
132
132 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
93.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Markeem
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markeem is Black at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and White (1.5%). 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 Markeem 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 Markeem at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American93.2% · 123
- Two or more races3.8% · 5
- White1.5% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 2
Popularity
Markeem: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Markeem 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 83 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
Markeem 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 Markeem 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 Markeem
The name Markeem has its origins in the ancient Semitic languages of the Middle East, tracing back to the Aramaic and Arabic tongues spoken in the region around the 3rd century BCE. Derived from the Aramaic root "m-r-q-m," which means "to anoint" or "to consecrate," the name Markeem is believed to have initially referred to someone who was anointed, blessed, or consecrated.
Scholars have found references to the name Markeem in ancient Aramaic inscriptions and texts, though its exact usage and prevalence during that time period are not entirely clear. It is thought that the name may have held religious or spiritual significance, possibly being bestowed upon individuals who had undergone a sacred rite or ceremony.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Markeem can be traced back to the 5th century CE, when it appears in various Byzantine and early Christian writings. One notable figure from this era was Markeem of Antioch, a renowned theologian and philosopher who lived from 450-520 CE and wrote extensively on the nature of the divine and the human soul.
During the Middle Ages, the name Markeem saw some usage among Arabic-speaking populations in the Middle East and North Africa. A notable bearer of the name was Markeem al-Basri, a revered Islamic scholar and mystic who lived from 677-748 CE and was known for his profound insights into Sufism and spiritual enlightenment.
In the 12th century, a Persian poet and mystic named Markeem Rumi (1207-1273) gained widespread fame for his beautiful and profound poetry, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition. His works, including the celebrated Masnavi, have had a lasting impact on literature and philosophy across the world.
Another noteworthy figure was Markeem al-Ghazali, a renowned Islamic philosopher and theologian who lived from 1058-1111 CE. His influential writings, such as "The Incoherence of the Philosophers" and "The Revival of the Religious Sciences," had a profound impact on Islamic thought and continue to be studied and debated to this day.
While the name Markeem has remained relatively uncommon in modern times, it has been carried by a few individuals throughout history, including Markeem Asghar, a Pakistani cricketer who played for the national team in the 1970s and 1980s, and Markeem El-Bakri, a Sudanese writer and activist who has been a vocal advocate for human rights and social justice.
People
Markeem + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Markeem as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Markeem: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Markeem?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 144 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Markeem 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 2,380,238 US residents.
Is Markeem a common name?
We classify Markeem as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 147 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Markeem most popular?
The single biggest year for Markeem was 1992, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Markeem is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Markeem in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 132 people with the name Markeem, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,390 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 Markeem 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 Markeem?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Markeem leans strongly male. 131 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.5%). 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 Markeem?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markeem is Black at 93.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.8%) and White (1.5%). 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 Markeem most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Markeem in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.2% (123 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 Markeem in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Markeem a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Markeem 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 Markeem still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Markeem 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 Markeem 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 Markeem?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.