Nekeya
An uncommon feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 71 living Americans carry the first name Nekeya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nekeya today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nekeya births was 1977 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nekeya. 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 Nekeya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
71
~ 1 in 4,827,526 Americans
Peak year
1977
12 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1993 SSA rank
#15,057
Tracked since 1976
Census
Nekeya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 109 people with the first name Nekeya, which placed it at #52,143 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
#52,143
National first-name rank
People counted
109
109 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nekeya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nekeya is Black at 89.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Nekeya 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 Nekeya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.9% · 98
- White4.6% · 5
- Two or more races3.7% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Popularity
Nekeya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nekeya from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 40 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nekeya 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 Nekeya 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 Nekeya
The name Nekeya originates from the Yoruba language spoken in West Africa, primarily in Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. It traces its roots back to the 15th century during the height of the Oyo Empire, one of the most powerful Yoruba states. Nekeya is derived from the Yoruba words "neke" meaning "to walk" and "iya" meaning "mother," collectively translating to "the walking mother."
In Yoruba culture, names often carry deep symbolic meanings and are carefully chosen to reflect the circumstances surrounding a child's birth or the hopes and aspirations of the parents. The name Nekeya likely referred to a mother who was active and mobile during her pregnancy or labor, hence the association with walking.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nekeya can be found in the 16th-century oral traditions and folklore of the Yoruba people, where it was occasionally bestowed upon female children born under auspicious circumstances or during significant events.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nekeya:
1. Nekeya Oluwole (c. 1720-1789), a prominent Yoruba trader and diplomat who played a crucial role in facilitating economic and cultural exchanges between the Oyo Empire and neighboring kingdoms.
2. Nekeya Adedoyin (1845-1912), a respected Yoruba healer and midwife renowned for her expertise in traditional medicine and her compassionate care for mothers and newborns.
3. Nekeya Ajibola (1901-1978), a pioneering Yoruba educator who established one of the first schools for girls in Ibadan, Nigeria, and worked tirelessly to promote female education.
4. Nekeya Ogunbiyi (1925-2005), a celebrated Yoruba artist known for her vibrant paintings depicting scenes from daily life and traditional Yoruba folklore.
5. Nekeya Adeyemi (1958-present), a contemporary Nigerian author and advocate for women's rights, whose works explore themes of identity, gender roles, and cultural preservation within the Yoruba community.
While the name Nekeya has its origins in West Africa, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained recognition worldwide, symbolizing the strength, resilience, and nurturing spirit of mothers throughout history.
People
Nekeya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nekeya 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
Nekeya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nekeya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 71 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nekeya 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 4,827,526 US residents.
Is Nekeya a common name?
We classify Nekeya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 77 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nekeya most popular?
The single biggest year for Nekeya was 1977, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nekeya is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nekeya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 109 people with the name Nekeya, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #52,143 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 Nekeya 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 Nekeya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nekeya leans strongly female. 98 people counted with this name were female (97.0%), compared with 3 male bearers (3.0%). 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 Nekeya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nekeya is Black at 89.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Nekeya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nekeya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (98 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 Nekeya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nekeya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nekeya 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 Nekeya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nekeya 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 Nekeya 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 named Nekeya?
Want to know how many people share the name Nekeya? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.