Matika
An Indian feminine name derived from the Sanskrit word "matika" meaning "clay" or "earth".
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Matika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Matika today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Matika births was 1990 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Matika. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Matika. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
1990
20 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1997 SSA rank
#11,621
Tracked since 1975
Census
Matika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 145 people with the first name Matika, which placed it at #46,211 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
#46,211
National first-name rank
People counted
145
145 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
69.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Matika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Matika is Black at 69.7%. The next largest groups are White (17.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). 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 Matika 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 Matika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.7% · 101
- White17.9% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 6
- Two or more races2.8% · 4
Popularity
Matika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Matika from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 55 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Matika 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 Matika 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 Matika
The name Matika originates from the Sanskrit language, one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages that flourished in ancient India. It is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word 'matika,' which means 'earth' or 'soil.' This name was likely given to children to signify a connection with the earth and nature.
One of the earliest known references to the name Matika can be found in the Rigveda, a sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns composed around 1500-1000 BCE. In the Rigveda, there are mentions of a character named Matika, who was believed to be a personification of the earth or a goddess associated with fertility and abundance.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Matika. One of the earliest recorded was Matika Gupta (c. 320-350 CE), a renowned Indian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry and the calculation of planetary positions.
Another prominent figure was Matika Devi (c. 1050-1100 CE), a Rajput princess and warrior from the Chahamana dynasty. She was known for her bravery and military prowess, and played a crucial role in defending her kingdom against invaders.
In the realm of literature, Matika Vishnu Shastri (1820-1891) was a celebrated Sanskrit scholar and poet from India. He authored several works, including commentaries on ancient Sanskrit texts and original poetic compositions.
Moving to more recent times, Matika Wilbur (born 1984) is a contemporary American photographer and filmmaker, best known for her project "Project 562," which aims to document and celebrate the diverse cultures and traditions of Native American tribes across the United States.
Lastly, Matika Raworth (born 1989) is a British actress and model, known for her roles in television series such as "Casualty" and "Silent Witness." She has also appeared in several films and stage productions.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Matika, which has its roots in the ancient Sanskrit language and carries connotations of connection with the earth and nature.
People
Matika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Matika 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
Matika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Matika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Matika 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Matika a common name?
We classify Matika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 95 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Matika most popular?
The single biggest year for Matika was 1990, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Matika is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Matika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 145 people with the name Matika, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,211 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 Matika 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 Matika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Matika leans strongly female. 135 people counted with this name were female (97.1%), compared with 4 male bearers (2.9%). 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 Matika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Matika is Black at 69.7%. The next largest groups are White (17.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). 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 Matika most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Matika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.7% (101 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 Matika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Matika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Matika 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 Matika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Matika 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 Matika 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 Matika as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Matika, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.