Martika
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially derived from Latin or Spanish.
Name Census estimates that about 1,035 living Americans carry the first name Martika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Martika today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Martika births was 1990 (273 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Martika. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Martika with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 331,164 Americans
Peak year
1990
273 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2001 SSA rank
#9,840
Tracked since 1986
Census
Martika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 878 people with the first name Martika, which placed it at #13,660 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
#13,660
National first-name rank
People counted
878
878 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
55.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Martika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Martika is Black at 55.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.1%) and White (15.1%). 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 Martika 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 Martika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American55.7% · 489
- Hispanic or Latino19.1% · 168
- White15.1% · 133
- Two or more races6.0% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 10
Popularity
Martika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Martika from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 813 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
Martika 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 Martika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Martikas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. Texas, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Martika, while Wisconsin, New Jersey, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Martika
The name Martika is of Sanskrit origin and is believed to have first appeared in ancient Hindu scriptures and texts around the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "marti," which means "ray of light" or "sun ray." In its earliest form, the name was often spelled as "Maarti" or "Maarti-ka."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Martika can be found in the Hindu epic "Mahabharata," where it was used to refer to a character who was said to be a descendant of the Sun god, Surya. This association with the sun and light suggests that the name may have been given to individuals who were seen as embodying radiance, warmth, and positivity.
In the centuries that followed, the name Martika gained popularity across various regions of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the northern and central parts of the country. It was embraced by Hindu communities as well as some Buddhist sects, who may have appreciated its connection to the spiritual concept of enlightenment.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Martika was a 12th-century Indian princess from the Chahamana dynasty, who ruled over the region of Ajmer in present-day Rajasthan. She was renowned for her bravery and military prowess, and her reign was marked by numerous victories against invading forces.
Another individual of note was Martika Devi, a 16th-century Indian queen who hailed from the Bundela Rajput clan. She is remembered for her patronage of the arts and her efforts to promote education and cultural development within her kingdom.
In the realm of literature, the name Martika appears in several ancient Sanskrit texts, including the "Puranas," which are a collection of Hindu mythological and historical narratives. One particular mention is found in the "Vishnu Purana," where Martika is described as a celestial nymph or apsara.
Beyond the Indian subcontinent, the name Martika has also been documented in various other cultures and traditions, albeit with slight variations in spelling and pronunciation. For example, in ancient Greece, there is a record of a woman named "Martike," who was a priestess in the temple of Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon.
While the name Martika has its roots in ancient times, it has endured through the ages and continues to be used in various parts of the world today, carrying with it a sense of radiance, enlightenment, and cultural richness.
People
Martika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Martika 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
Martika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Martika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,035 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Martika 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 331,164 US residents.
Is Martika a common name?
We classify Martika as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,077 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Martika most popular?
The single biggest year for Martika was 1990, when 273 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Martika is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Martika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 878 people with the name Martika, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,660 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 Martika 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 Martika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Martika appears almost entirely female. Of the 880 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Martika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Martika is Black at 55.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.1%) and White (15.1%). 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 Martika most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Martika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.7% (489 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 Martika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Martika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Martika 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 Martika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Martika 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 Martika 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 Martika?
Find out how many people have the name Martika on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.