Shemeika
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Arabic.
Name Census estimates that about 174 living Americans carry the first name Shemeika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shemeika today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shemeika births was 1979 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shemeika. 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
174
~ 1 in 1,969,853 Americans
Peak year
1979
31 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1991 SSA rank
#11,317
Tracked since 1973
Census
Shemeika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 152 people with the first name Shemeika, which placed it at #44,992 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
#44,992
National first-name rank
People counted
152
152 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
95.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shemeika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shemeika is Black at 95.4%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Shemeika 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 Shemeika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American95.4% · 145
- White1.3% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 2
- Two or more races0.7% · 1
Popularity
Shemeika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shemeika 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 115 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
Shemeika 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 Shemeika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shemeikas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shemeika
The name Shemeika is of Russian origin, derived from the Hebrew name Shemuel, which means "God has heard" or "name of God." It first appeared in Russia during the 11th century, when the Eastern Orthodox Church adopted many Hebrew names.
In its earliest form, the name was spelled Shemeyika or Shemeyaka, a diminutive version of the Russian spelling of Samuel. Over time, it evolved into the modern spelling of Shemeika, which became a unisex name in Russia and other Slavic countries.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Shemeika was in the Russian Primary Chronicle, a historical text dating back to the 12th century. This chronicle documented the lives of prominent figures in ancient Rus, including princes and clergy.
Among the notable historical figures with the name Shemeika was Shemeika Borisovich, a Russian prince who lived in the 14th century. He was a descendant of the Grand Prince of Vladimir and played a role in the political intrigues of his time.
Another famous bearer of the name was Shemeika Ivanovich, a Russian explorer and trader who lived in the 16th century. He was one of the first Russians to establish trade routes and settlements in Siberia, contributing to the expansion of the Russian Empire.
In the 17th century, there was a renowned Russian artist named Shemeika Ushakov, who was known for his iconic religious paintings and frescoes. He was a master of the traditional Russian style of iconography and influenced generations of artists.
During the 19th century, Shemeika Turchaninov was a prominent Russian botanist and naturalist. He made significant contributions to the study of plants and their classification, and several plant species were named after him in recognition of his work.
While the name Shemeika has its roots in the Russian language and culture, it has also been adopted in other Slavic countries over the centuries, with variations in spelling and pronunciation. Its connection to the biblical name Samuel has given it a sense of religious and cultural significance.
People
Shemeika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shemeika 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
Shemeika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shemeika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 174 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shemeika 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 1,969,853 US residents.
Is Shemeika a common name?
We classify Shemeika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 186 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shemeika most popular?
The single biggest year for Shemeika was 1979, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shemeika is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shemeika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 152 people with the name Shemeika, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,992 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 Shemeika 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 Shemeika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shemeika appears almost entirely female. Of the 150 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 Shemeika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shemeika is Black at 95.4%. The next largest groups are White (1.3%) and Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Shemeika most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shemeika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.4% (145 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 Shemeika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shemeika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shemeika 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 Shemeika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shemeika 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 Shemeika 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 Shemeika?
Find out how many Americans are named Shemeika on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.