Rebeka
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "to tie securely".
Name Census estimates that about 2,548 living Americans carry the first name Rebeka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Rebeka today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rebeka births was 1991 (93 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rebeka. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Rebeka with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 134,519 Americans
Peak year
1991
93 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,890
Tracked since 1957
Census
Rebeka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,860 people with the first name Rebeka, which placed it at #5,817 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
#5,817
National first-name rank
People counted
2.9K
2,860 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rebeka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rebeka is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.6%) and Black (6.2%). 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 Rebeka 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 Rebeka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.2% · 1,694
- Hispanic or Latino24.6% · 703
- Black or African American6.2% · 178
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 165
- Two or more races3.4% · 96
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 24
Popularity
Rebeka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rebeka from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 850 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
Rebeka 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 Rebeka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rebekas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Rebeka, while Oregon, Georgia, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 57 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rebeka
The name Rebeka has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture. It is derived from the biblical name Rivkah, which is the Hebrew spelling of the name Rebecca. The name is mentioned in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, where Rebecca is the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau.
The name Rebeka is believed to have originated from the Hebrew word "ribqah," which means "to tie" or "to bind." This could be interpreted as a reference to Rebecca's role in tying the family lineage together or binding the family together through her marriage to Isaac.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Rebeka can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where Rebecca is described as a beautiful and virtuous woman who was chosen to be Isaac's wife. The story of Rebecca's encounter with Abraham's servant at the well and her subsequent journey to Canaan to marry Isaac is a significant part of the biblical narrative.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Rebeka. One of the most famous was Rebeka Aupetit (1737-1828), a French writer and translator who was known for her translations of English literature into French. Another notable figure was Rebeka Hufnagel (1863-1941), a Swedish painter and illustrator who was recognized for her vibrant and colorful depictions of nature.
In the realm of literature, Rebeka West (1892-1983) was a renowned English novelist, critic, and journalist who was known for her novels "The Return of the Soldier" and "The Fountain Overflows." Her works often explored themes of feminism, social class, and the aftermath of World War I.
Rebeka Bornheimer (1556-1636) was a German writer and publisher who is credited with publishing one of the earliest printed books in the German language. She played a significant role in promoting literacy and the dissemination of knowledge during the Renaissance period.
Another notable figure was Rebeka Arnež (1828-1904), a Slovenian writer and activist who fought for women's rights and education. She was one of the first Slovenian women to publish a book and was a pioneer in advocating for gender equality in her country.
These are just a few examples of the many remarkable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Rebeka. The name has a rich heritage and has been carried by women from diverse backgrounds and cultures, each leaving their own unique mark on the world.
People
Rebeka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rebeka as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Rebeka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rebeka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,548 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rebeka 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 134,519 US residents.
Is Rebeka a common name?
We classify Rebeka as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,647 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rebeka most popular?
The single biggest year for Rebeka was 1991, when 93 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rebeka is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rebeka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,860 people with the name Rebeka, or 0.95 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,817 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 Rebeka 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 Rebeka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rebeka appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,860 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Rebeka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rebeka is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.6%) and Black (6.2%). 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 Rebeka most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rebeka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.2% (1,694 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 Rebeka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rebeka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rebeka 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 Rebeka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rebeka 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 Rebeka 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 share the name Rebeka?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.