Naketa
A Native American name meaning "keeper of sacred knowledge".
Name Census estimates that about 242 living Americans carry the first name Naketa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Naketa today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Naketa births was 1977 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Naketa. 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
242
~ 1 in 1,416,340 Americans
Peak year
1977
21 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1995 SSA rank
#12,849
Tracked since 1972
Census
Naketa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 237 people with the first name Naketa, which placed it at #34,427 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
#34,427
National first-name rank
People counted
237
237 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Naketa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Naketa is Black at 82.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.6%) 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 Naketa 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 Naketa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.3% · 195
- White7.6% · 18
- Two or more races6.3% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 1
Popularity
Naketa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Naketa from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 126 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
Naketa 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 Naketa 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 Naketa
The name Naketa is believed to have its origins in the indigenous Yoruba language spoken in parts of West Africa, particularly in present-day Nigeria. It is thought to be derived from the root word "oke," which translates to "hill" or "rise." The addition of the prefix "na" suggests a connection to a place or location, potentially indicating that the name may have been used to refer to someone who lived on or near a hill.
While the exact origins of the name are somewhat obscure, it is possible that it was used in ancient times by the Yoruba people to identify individuals or as a descriptive term for their place of residence. However, there are no clear historical references or records that definitively trace the name's usage in ancient texts or religious scriptures.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Naketa are relatively modern, with the first known instances appearing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is important to note that record-keeping practices, particularly in parts of Africa, were often limited or inconsistent during earlier periods, which may account for the lack of documented historical references.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Naketa was Naketa Roberts, an American singer and actress born in 1925 in Chicago, Illinois. She had a successful career in the entertainment industry, appearing in numerous Broadway productions and television shows throughout the mid-20th century.
Another notable figure with the name Naketa was Naketa Hickman, a renowned American artist and educator born in 1948 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her work has been exhibited in various galleries and museums across the United States, and she has been recognized for her contributions to the arts and education.
In the field of sports, Naketa Hickman-Finley, an American basketball player born in 1976, achieved recognition for her skills on the court. She played professionally in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and represented the United States in international competitions.
Outside of the United States, Naketa Ouedraogo, a Burkinabé politician and activist born in 1960, has been a prominent figure in her home country of Burkina Faso. She has been involved in various initiatives aimed at promoting women's rights and social development.
Lastly, Naketa Gaye, a Senegalese singer and songwriter born in 1981, has gained popularity for her contributions to the music industry in West Africa. Her unique blend of traditional and contemporary styles has earned her critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase.
It is worth noting that while these individuals represent some of the more notable examples of people with the name Naketa, the name has likely been used by many others throughout history, particularly within the Yoruba culture and communities of West Africa.
People
Naketa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Naketa 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
Naketa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Naketa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 242 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Naketa 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 1,416,340 US residents.
Is Naketa a common name?
We classify Naketa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 259 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Naketa most popular?
The single biggest year for Naketa was 1977, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Naketa is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Naketa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 237 people with the name Naketa, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,427 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 Naketa 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 Naketa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Naketa leans strongly female. 231 people counted with this name were female (97.5%), compared with 6 male bearers (2.5%). 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 Naketa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Naketa is Black at 82.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.6%) 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 Naketa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Naketa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.3% (195 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 Naketa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Naketa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Naketa 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 Naketa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Naketa 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 Naketa 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 Naketa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.