Omeka
A Native American name meaning "camper" or "to wander".
Name Census estimates that about 97 living Americans carry the first name Omeka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Omeka today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Omeka births was 1976 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Omeka. 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 Omeka. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
97
~ 1 in 3,533,550 Americans
Peak year
1976
16 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1988 SSA rank
#13,270
Tracked since 1970
Census
Omeka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 112 people with the first name Omeka, which placed it at #51,666 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
#51,666
National first-name rank
People counted
112
112 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
83.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Omeka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Omeka is Black at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.3%) and White (3.6%). 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 Omeka 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 Omeka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American83.0% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.3% · 7
- White3.6% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.6% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Popularity
Omeka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Omeka from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 80 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Omeka remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Omeka 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 Omeka 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 Omeka
The given name Omeka has its origins in the Yoruba language spoken in West Africa, primarily in modern-day Nigeria. It is believed to have emerged during the 15th century CE, a period when the Yoruba people flourished as a major cultural and political force in the region.
Omeka is derived from the Yoruba words "omo" meaning "child" and "eka" meaning "path" or "way." The name can be interpreted as "child of the way" or "one who follows the path." This name may have been bestowed upon children to symbolize their journey through life and the importance of staying true to their principles and values.
While there are no recorded instances of Omeka appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, the name has been documented in various historical records and accounts from West Africa. One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name was Omeka Oduduwa, a prominent Yoruba ruler who lived in the late 15th century and was instrumental in the establishment of the Oyo Empire.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Omeka. In the 18th century, Omeka Adeleye was a respected Yoruba priest and spiritual leader known for his wisdom and guidance. In the 19th century, Omeka Olowu was a renowned Yoruba artist and sculptor whose works are still celebrated today.
In more recent times, Omeka Eguavoen (1923-2003) was a Nigerian playwright and author who made significant contributions to the literary world with his works exploring Yoruba culture and traditions. Another prominent figure was Omeka Anyiam (1929-2012), a Nigerian politician and diplomat who served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs in the 1980s.
While these are just a few examples, the name Omeka has been carried by numerous individuals throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich cultural tapestry of West Africa and beyond.
People
Omeka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Omeka as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Omeka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Omeka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 97 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Omeka 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 3,533,550 US residents.
Is Omeka a common name?
We classify Omeka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 106 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Omeka most popular?
The single biggest year for Omeka was 1976, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Omeka is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Omeka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 112 people with the name Omeka, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,666 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 Omeka 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 Omeka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Omeka leans strongly female. 112 people counted with this name were female (95.7%), compared with 5 male bearers (4.3%). 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 Omeka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Omeka is Black at 83.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.3%) and White (3.6%). 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 Omeka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Omeka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.0% (93 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 Omeka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Omeka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Omeka 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 Omeka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Omeka 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 Omeka 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 Americans are named Omeka?
See how many Americans are named Omeka on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.