Tameeka
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly from an African language.
Name Census estimates that about 871 living Americans carry the first name Tameeka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tameeka today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tameeka births was 1979 (73 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tameeka. 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 Tameeka with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
871
~ 1 in 393,518 Americans
Peak year
1979
73 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1998 SSA rank
#9,199
Tracked since 1969
Census
Tameeka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 785 people with the first name Tameeka, which placed it at #14,848 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
#14,848
National first-name rank
People counted
785
785 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
88.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tameeka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tameeka is Black at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Tameeka 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 Tameeka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.0% · 691
- Two or more races5.4% · 42
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 23
- White2.7% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 8
Popularity
Tameeka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tameeka from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 426 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tameeka 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 Tameeka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tameekas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the most babies named Tameeka, while Texas, South Carolina, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tameeka
The name Tameeka is a modern feminine given name of African American origin, believed to have emerged in the late 20th century as a variant or combination of the names Tamara and Meeka. Its precise roots are uncertain, but it likely draws inspiration from the melding of various cultural influences within the African American community.
While the name itself is relatively new, some linguists suggest it may have tenuous connections to older African names or words, reflecting the rich tapestry of African heritage and linguistic diversity. However, direct historical references or appearances in ancient texts are scarce, given the name's recent coinage.
One of the earliest documented uses of the name Tameeka can be traced back to the 1970s, when it began to gain popularity among African American families seeking unique and culturally resonant names for their daughters. Over the following decades, the name steadily increased in usage, particularly within certain regions of the United States.
Notable individuals who have borne the name Tameeka include Tameeka Watkins (born 1975), an American track and field athlete who competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Tameeka Diaz (born 1989) is a former professional basketball player from Puerto Rico, and Tameeka Grills (born 1989) is an American professional wrestler known by her ring name Carmella.
Another prominent figure with this first name is Tameeka Hunter (born 1977), an American entrepreneur and founder of the successful cosmetics company Tameeka Beauty Brands. Additionally, Tameeka Watkins (born 1982) is a renowned American gospel singer and songwriter who has released several acclaimed albums.
While the name Tameeka is relatively modern and its exact origins may remain elusive, it has undoubtedly carved a niche for itself within contemporary African American naming traditions, embodying a sense of cultural pride and individuality.
People
Tameeka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tameeka 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
Tameeka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tameeka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 871 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tameeka 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 393,518 US residents.
Is Tameeka a common name?
We classify Tameeka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 939 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tameeka most popular?
The single biggest year for Tameeka was 1979, when 73 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tameeka 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 Tameeka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 785 people with the name Tameeka, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,848 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 Tameeka 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 Tameeka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tameeka appears almost entirely female. Of the 781 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 Tameeka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tameeka is Black at 88.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Tameeka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tameeka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.0% (691 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 Tameeka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tameeka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tameeka 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 Tameeka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tameeka 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 Tameeka 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 are named Tameeka?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.