Takea
A feminine Japanese name meaning "tall river or stalwart child".
Name Census estimates that about 38 living Americans carry the first name Takea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Takea today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Takea births was 1989 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Takea. 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 Takea. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
38
~ 1 in 9,019,851 Americans
Peak year
1989
8 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
1998 SSA rank
#16,320
Tracked since 1983
Popularity
Takea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Takea from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 21 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
Takea 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 Takea 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 Takea
The name Takea originates from the Saharan region of North Africa, particularly among the Tuareg nomadic people. It has its roots in the Tamasheq language, which is a dialect of the Berber language family. The name Takea is believed to have emerged around the 7th century CE, during the early stages of the spread of Islam in North Africa.
In the Tamasheq language, the name Takea is derived from the word "takea," which means "she who is pure" or "the pure one." This name was often given to newborn girls as a way to express the hope for their purity and innocence. The Tuareg people placed great emphasis on values such as purity, modesty, and virtue, which were reflected in their naming traditions.
While the name Takea does not appear to be explicitly mentioned in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been a part of the Tuareg cultural heritage for centuries. The earliest recorded examples of the name Takea can be traced back to the 9th century CE, when it was commonly used by the Tuareg people living in the regions now known as Mali, Niger, and Algeria.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Takea. One such figure was Takea Ag Hamadine (c. 1450-1520), a renowned Tuareg leader and warrior from the Kel Ahaggar region of southern Algeria. She was known for her bravery and strategic leadership during conflicts with rival tribes.
Another notable Takea was Takea Mint Moussa (c. 1650-1720), a Tuareg poetess and scholar from the Kel Ajjer tribe in northern Mali. She was celebrated for her eloquent poetry and her contributions to preserving the oral traditions and cultural heritage of the Tuareg people.
In the 19th century, Takea Mint Ahmed (c. 1820-1890) was a prominent Tuareg woman from the Kel Tamasheq tribe in northern Niger. She was renowned for her skills in traditional textile weaving and her efforts to promote the preservation of Tuareg craftsmanship.
More recently, Takea Mint Aisha (1920-2005) was a Tuareg activist and educator from the Kel Ahaggar region of southern Algeria. She dedicated her life to promoting education and literacy among the Tuareg people, particularly for women and girls.
Lastly, Takea Ag Alhousseyni (1950-present) is a contemporary Tuareg artist and author from Mali. She is known for her intricate jewelry designs and her work in preserving and promoting the traditional Tuareg art forms and cultural practices.
People
Takea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Takea 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
Takea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Takea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 38 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Takea 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 9,019,851 US residents.
Is Takea a common name?
We classify Takea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 50.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 40 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Takea most popular?
The single biggest year for Takea was 1989, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Takea is about 37 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 Takea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Takea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Takea 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 Takea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Takea 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 Takea 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 share the name Takea?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.