Shemeca
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly from an American family name.
Name Census estimates that about 84 living Americans carry the first name Shemeca. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shemeca today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shemeca births was 1980 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shemeca. 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 Shemeca. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
84
~ 1 in 4,080,409 Americans
Peak year
1980
14 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1986 SSA rank
#8,392
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Shemeca: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shemeca from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 56 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shemeca 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 Shemeca 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 Shemeca
The name Shemeca has its origins in Hebrew, derived from the biblical name Shemaiah, which means "the Lord has heard" or "the Lord has obeyed." The name can be traced back to ancient times, appearing in various religious texts and historical records.
One of the earliest known references to the name Shemaiah can be found in the Hebrew Bible, where it is mentioned as the name of several individuals, including a Levite during the reign of King David and a prophet during the time of King Rehoboam.
Throughout history, the name has undergone various spelling variations, including Shemaiah, Shemayah, and Shemeca, before evolving into the modern form of Shemeca. This evolution can be attributed to the influence of different languages and cultural contexts.
While the name Shemeca is not as common as some other biblical names, there have been several notable individuals who bore this name over the centuries. One such person was Shemeca Holloway, an African-American gospel singer and songwriter who was active in the late 20th century.
Another notable figure was Shemeca Campbell, a British actress and singer who rose to prominence in the early 2000s for her roles in various television shows and stage productions.
In the realm of literature, Shemeca Booker was an American author and educator who wrote several children's books and contributed to various literary journals throughout her career in the late 20th century.
Additionally, Shemeca Outlaw was an American basketball player who played professionally in the WNBA during the early 2000s, representing teams like the Houston Comets and the Detroit Shock.
The name Shemeca also gained recognition through Shemeca Abraham, an American entrepreneur and business leader who founded a successful technology company in the late 20th century.
These individuals, spanning different fields and time periods, have contributed to the rich history and diversity associated with the name Shemeca, carrying on the legacy of its ancient Hebrew origins.
People
Shemeca + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shemeca as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shemeca: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shemeca?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 84 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shemeca 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 4,080,409 US residents.
Is Shemeca a common name?
We classify Shemeca as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 91 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shemeca most popular?
The single biggest year for Shemeca was 1980, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shemeca is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Shemeca in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shemeca a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shemeca 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 Shemeca still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shemeca 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 Shemeca 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Shemeca?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.