Markeita
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a blend of "Mary" and "Keita".
Name Census estimates that about 219 living Americans carry the first name Markeita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Markeita today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Markeita births was 1993 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Markeita. 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
219
~ 1 in 1,565,088 Americans
Peak year
1993
24 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2000 SSA rank
#12,641
Tracked since 1970
Census
Markeita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 247 people with the first name Markeita, 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
81.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Markeita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markeita is Black at 81.0%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Markeita 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 Markeita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.0% · 200
- White11.7% · 29
- Two or more races3.2% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 4
Popularity
Markeita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Markeita from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 113 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
Markeita 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 Markeita 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 Markeita
The name Markeita is a relatively modern name with its origins shrouded in mystery. It is believed to have emerged in the late 19th or early 20th century, possibly as a creative combination of existing names or a completely original coinage. The prefix "Mark" suggests a potential connection to the Latin name Marcus or its derivatives, while the suffix "-eita" may have roots in various European languages such as Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese.
Despite its unclear etymology, the name Markeita has gained some popularity over the past century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the United States Census records from the early 1900s, where a small number of individuals were listed with the name. However, no specific historical figures or notable personalities bearing this name have been widely documented from that era.
As the 20th century progressed, the name Markeita gradually gained more recognition, although it remained relatively uncommon. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Markeita Caldwell, an American singer and actress born in 1910. She gained some fame in the 1930s and 1940s for her performances on stage and in films, including the 1943 musical "Cabin in the Sky."
Another individual of note was Markeita Bostick, an American basketball player born in 1947. She played for the University of Oklahoma and was part of the team that won the national championship in 1967. Bostick went on to have a successful career in coaching and administration after her playing days.
In the latter part of the 20th century, Markeita Johnson, an American author and educator, made her mark. Born in 1949, Johnson wrote several children's books and worked as a teacher, advocating for literacy and education for underprivileged communities.
More recently, Markeita Moore, born in 1977, has gained recognition as an American artist and sculptor. Her works have been featured in various exhibitions and galleries, exploring themes of identity, culture, and social issues.
While the name Markeita may not have a long and storied history like some more traditional names, it has found its place in modern times, with individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions bearing this unique moniker. Its precise origins may remain elusive, but the name continues to leave its mark in contemporary society.
People
Markeita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Markeita 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
Markeita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Markeita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 219 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Markeita 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 1,565,088 US residents.
Is Markeita a common name?
We classify Markeita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 233 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Markeita most popular?
The single biggest year for Markeita was 1993, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Markeita is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Markeita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 247 people with the name Markeita, 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 Markeita 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 Markeita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Markeita leans strongly female. 245 people counted with this name were female (97.2%), compared with 7 male bearers (2.8%). 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 Markeita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Markeita is Black at 81.0%. The next largest groups are White (11.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Markeita most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Markeita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (200 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 Markeita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Markeita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Markeita 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 Markeita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Markeita 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 Markeita 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 the name Markeita?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.