Takala
A Finnish feminine name meaning "good fortune" or "blessed destiny".
Name Census estimates that about 58 living Americans carry the first name Takala. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Takala today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Takala births was 2001 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Takala. 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 Takala. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
58
~ 1 in 5,909,558 Americans
Peak year
2001
9 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2007 SSA rank
#15,307
Tracked since 1991
Popularity
Takala: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Takala from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 31 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
Takala 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 Takala 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 Takala
The name Takala is believed to have its origins in the Finnish language, where it is thought to be derived from the word "takala," meaning "back" or "rear." This suggests that the name may have been used to refer to someone who lived or worked at the back or rear of a settlement or village.
In its earliest recorded use, the name Takala appeared as a surname or family name in Finland, particularly in the southwestern regions of the country. It is known to have been in use as a surname as early as the 16th century, and it is likely that the name was later adopted as a given name as well.
While there are no known historical references to the name Takala in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that the name was used in local Finnish folklore or oral traditions that have not been well documented.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Takala was Juho Takala, a Finnish farmer and landowner who lived in the late 18th century. Another notable figure was Antti Takala, a Finnish politician and member of the Parliament of Finland, who was born in 1874 and died in 1944.
In the 20th century, the name gained some recognition through individuals such as Tauno Takala, a Finnish wrestler who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, and Esko Takala, a Finnish ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga, the top professional ice hockey league in Finland, during the 1960s and 1970s.
Additionally, Aili Takala, a Finnish poet and writer, was born in 1912 and made significant contributions to Finnish literature throughout her career. Her works often explored themes of nature, love, and the human experience.
While these are just a few examples, the name Takala has been used by individuals throughout Finnish history, primarily as a surname but also as a given name. Its origins and meaning reflect the Finnish language and culture, and its use has been documented for several centuries.
People
Takala + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Takala as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Takala: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Takala?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 58 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Takala 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 5,909,558 US residents.
Is Takala a common name?
We classify Takala as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 60 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Takala most popular?
The single biggest year for Takala was 2001, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Takala is about 28 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 Takala in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Takala a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Takala 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 Takala still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Takala 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 Takala 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 common is the name Takala?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.