Shimika
A feminine name of Japanese origin meaning "beautiful village".
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the first name Shimika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shimika today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shimika births was 1978 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shimika. 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
162
~ 1 in 2,115,768 Americans
Peak year
1978
22 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1991 SSA rank
#10,125
Tracked since 1974
Census
Shimika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 162 people with the first name Shimika, which placed it at #43,512 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
#43,512
National first-name rank
People counted
162
162 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shimika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shimika is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and White (3.1%). 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 Shimika 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 Shimika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.4% · 140
- Two or more races6.8% · 11
- White3.1% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1
Popularity
Shimika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shimika 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 91 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
Shimika 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 Shimika 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 Shimika
The name Shimika is believed to have originated from the Japanese language, derived from the combination of two words: "shimi" meaning "stripe" and "ka" meaning "beautiful." This linguistic origin suggests that the name was initially given to individuals possessing a captivating appearance with striking patterns or markings.
During the Heian period in Japan, which spanned from 794 to 1185 CE, the name Shimika gained prominence among the aristocratic classes. It was often associated with the intricate and elegant patterns found in the traditional clothing and artwork of the time, reflecting the reverence for beauty and refinement in Japanese culture.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Shimika can be traced back to the Konjaku Monogatarishū, a Japanese collection of folklore and tales compiled in the late Heian period. In this literary work, a character named Shimika is described as a woman of extraordinary beauty, with a countenance resembling the intricate patterns of a woven tapestry.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shimika. In the 16th century, Shimika Takamori (1525-1592) was a renowned Japanese painter and calligrapher, renowned for her exquisite depictions of nature and her mastery of the intricate brushstrokes that resembled delicate patterns.
Another prominent figure was Shimika Fujiwara (1650-1718), a celebrated poet and scholar during the Edo period in Japan. Her poetry often drew inspiration from the intricate patterns found in nature, reflecting the name's connection to beauty and elegance.
During the Meiji era in the late 19th century, Shimika Ōkubo (1870-1945) gained recognition as a pioneering female educator and advocate for women's rights. Her efforts in establishing educational institutions and promoting gender equality left an indelible mark on Japanese society.
In more recent times, Shimika Nakamura (1920-2002) was a renowned Japanese dancer and choreographer. Her performances were characterized by intricate and graceful movements, echoing the name's connection to beauty and patterns.
Lastly, Shimika Yoshikawa (1941-2019) was a celebrated Japanese author and screenwriter, known for her captivating storytelling and intricate narratives that delved into the complexities of human relationships and societal issues.
While the name Shimika may have evolved and taken on different nuances over time, its origins remain deeply rooted in the Japanese language and culture, symbolizing the appreciation for beauty, elegance, and intricate patterns that have been woven into the rich tapestry of Japanese history.
People
Shimika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shimika 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
Shimika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shimika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shimika 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 2,115,768 US residents.
Is Shimika a common name?
We classify Shimika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 174 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shimika most popular?
The single biggest year for Shimika was 1978, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shimika is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shimika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 162 people with the name Shimika, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,512 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 Shimika 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 Shimika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shimika appears almost entirely female. Of the 157 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 Shimika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shimika is Black at 86.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and White (3.1%). 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 Shimika most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shimika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.4% (140 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 Shimika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shimika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shimika 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 Shimika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shimika 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 Shimika 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 have Shimika as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.