Nakea
A Native American feminine name meaning "singer".
Name Census estimates that about 215 living Americans carry the first name Nakea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nakea today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nakea births was 1994 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nakea. 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
215
~ 1 in 1,594,206 Americans
Peak year
1994
35 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2007 SSA rank
#16,970
Tracked since 1974
Census
Nakea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 224 people with the first name Nakea, which placed it at #35,741 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
#35,741
National first-name rank
People counted
224
224 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
76.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nakea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nakea is Black at 76.3%. The next largest groups are White (10.3%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Nakea 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 Nakea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American76.3% · 171
- White10.3% · 23
- Two or more races6.3% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 3
Popularity
Nakea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nakea from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 84 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
Nakea 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 Nakea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nakeas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nakea
The given name Nakea is believed to have its origins in the Native American language of the Omaha tribe, one of the Siouan-speaking peoples indigenous to the Great Plains region of the United States. The name is thought to derive from the Omaha word "nakhe," meaning "keeper" or "protector."
In the Omaha culture, names were often chosen to reflect the hopes and aspirations of the parents for their child's future role or character. The name Nakea may have been bestowed upon a child with the intention of them growing to be a guardian or caretaker within their community.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Nakea date back to the late 19th century, when the United States government began documenting the names of Native American individuals during the era of forced assimilation and relocation to reservations. However, it is likely that the name existed in oral tradition long before written records were kept.
One of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name Nakea was Nakea Osborne, a prominent Omaha leader and tribal council member in the late 1800s. He was instrumental in negotiating treaties and advocating for the rights of his people during a time of great upheaval and displacement.
Another historical figure with the name Nakea was Nakea Whitehorse, a revered medicine woman and healer among the Cheyenne tribe in the early 20th century. She was renowned for her vast knowledge of traditional herbal remedies and her dedication to preserving the cultural practices of her people.
In the realm of literature, Nakea Thunderhawk was a celebrated author and poet of the Native American Renaissance movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Her works explored themes of identity, spirituality, and the ongoing struggles faced by indigenous communities in modern times.
Moving into the world of sports, Nakea Begay was a skilled basketball player who played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for the Phoenix Mercury in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She was recognized for her tenacity and leadership on the court.
Finally, Nakea Yellowbird was a renowned artist and bead worker from the Navajo Nation in the late 20th century. Her intricate and vibrant beadwork pieces were highly sought after and widely exhibited, preserving and celebrating the rich artistic traditions of her people.
While the name Nakea may not be as commonly heard today, its historical significance and connection to the Native American cultures of the Great Plains region continue to resonate, serving as a reminder of the enduring legacy and resilience of these communities.
People
Nakea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nakea as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nakea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nakea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 215 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nakea 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 1,594,206 US residents.
Is Nakea a common name?
We classify Nakea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 228 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nakea most popular?
The single biggest year for Nakea was 1994, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nakea is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nakea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 224 people with the name Nakea, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,741 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 Nakea 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 Nakea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nakea leans strongly female. 205 people counted with this name were female (89.9%), compared with 23 male bearers (10.1%). 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 Nakea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nakea is Black at 76.3%. The next largest groups are White (10.3%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Nakea most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nakea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.3% (171 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 Nakea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nakea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nakea 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 Nakea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nakea 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 Nakea 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 Nakea?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.