Takia
Arabic feminine name meaning "pious, devout" or "innocent, pure".
Name Census estimates that about 1,874 living Americans carry the first name Takia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Takia today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Takia births was 1997 (86 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Takia. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Takia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 182,900 Americans
Peak year
1997
86 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2019 SSA rank
#17,689
Tracked since 1974
Census
Takia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,566 people with the first name Takia, which placed it at #9,049 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
#9,049
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,566 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
88.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Takia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Takia is Black at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and White (2.7%). 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 Takia 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 Takia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.1% · 1,379
- Two or more races4.1% · 64
- White2.7% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 10
Popularity
Takia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Takia from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 658 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Takia 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 Takia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Takias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. New York, Florida, Maryland recorded the most babies named Takia, while Wisconsin, Tennessee, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Takia
The name Takia has its origins in the Arabic language, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Arabic word "taqiya," which means "piety" or "religious devotion." The name was likely initially bestowed upon children as a reflection of their parents' spiritual values and aspirations for their offspring to lead a virtuous life.
During the Islamic Golden Age, which spanned from the 8th to the 13th centuries, the name Takia gained prominence across the Middle East and North Africa. It was particularly popular among families of Islamic faith, who saw the name as a symbol of their religious beliefs and traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Takia can be found in the writings of the renowned Islamic scholar and philosopher, Al-Ghazali (1058-1111 CE). In his seminal work, "The Revival of the Religious Sciences," Al-Ghazali mentions a woman named Takia, whom he praises for her profound spiritual wisdom and devotion to the faith.
Throughout the medieval period, the name Takia was borne by several notable figures in the Islamic world. One such individual was Takia al-Naysaburi (d. 1086 CE), a revered Sufi mystic and poet from the city of Nishapur in present-day Iran. Her poetic works, which often explored themes of divine love and spiritual enlightenment, earned her widespread acclaim and influenced generations of Sufi writers.
Another prominent figure with the name Takia was Takia al-Dimashqi (1241-1318 CE), a Syrian scholar and physician who made significant contributions to the fields of medicine and astronomy. Her treatises on medical practices and her observations of celestial phenomena were widely studied and referenced by scholars of her time.
In the Ottoman Empire, the name Takia was carried by Takia Sultan (1590-1647), a princess and the daughter of Sultan Ahmed I. Known for her patronage of the arts and her philanthropic endeavors, Takia Sultan commissioned the construction of several mosques, schools, and public fountains throughout the empire.
Moving into the modern era, the name Takia continued to be used, albeit less frequently, within Arabic-speaking communities and among those of Islamic heritage. Notable bearers of the name in recent history include Takia Somers (1909-1988), a Lebanese-American writer and activist who advocated for women's rights and social justice.
While the name Takia may not be as prevalent today as it once was, its enduring presence serves as a testament to the rich cultural and religious heritage of the Arabic-speaking world. Its meaning of piety and devotion continues to resonate with those who value spiritual depth and a commitment to living a virtuous life.
People
Takia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Takia 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
Takia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Takia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,874 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Takia 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 182,900 US residents.
Is Takia a common name?
We classify Takia as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,962 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Takia most popular?
The single biggest year for Takia was 1997, when 86 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Takia is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Takia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,566 people with the name Takia, or 0.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,049 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 Takia 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 Takia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Takia leans strongly female. 1,545 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 27 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Takia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Takia is Black at 88.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.1%) and White (2.7%). 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 Takia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Takia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (1,379 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 Takia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Takia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Takia 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 Takia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Takia 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 Takia 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 common is the name Takia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.