Taska
A name of uncertain meaning, possibly derived from Native American languages.
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Taska. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Taska today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Taska births was 1974 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Taska. 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 Taska. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
1974
9 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1984 SSA rank
#12,014
Tracked since 1964
Popularity
Taska: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Taska from the 1960s through to the 1980s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 14 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Taska remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Taska 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 Taska 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 Taska
The name Taska is believed to have its origins in the ancient Finno-Ugric languages, specifically in the Khanty and Mansi languages spoken in Western Siberia. These languages are part of the larger Uralic language family, which also includes Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian.
Linguists trace the name Taska to the Proto-Uralic root word *taska, which means "bag" or "pouch." This root word likely evolved from the Proto-Indo-European word *dhegh-, meaning "to bind" or "to weave." The name's connection to a bag or pouch may have been symbolic, representing qualities such as resourcefulness, practicality, or the ability to carry and provide for others.
The earliest known written record of the name Taska dates back to the 14th century, when it was mentioned in the Nesterov Chronicles, a collection of historical documents from the Khanty and Mansi peoples. In these chronicles, Taska was recorded as the name of a prominent hunter and gatherer in the region.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Taska. One of the earliest was Taska Vortynov (c. 1450-1510), a Khanty chieftain and warrior who led his people in battles against the expanding Russian empire. Later, in the 17th century, Taska Polozhevskaya (1620-1692) was a respected herbal healer and midwife among the Mansi people.
In more recent times, Taska Chikova (1885-1963) was a renowned Khanty storyteller and keeper of oral traditions, while Taska Syrtanova (1910-1995) was a prominent Mansi writer and poet who helped preserve her people's language and culture.
Another notable figure was Taska Kutjkova (1925-2011), a Khanty activist and advocate for indigenous rights, who worked tirelessly to protect the traditional lands and way of life of her people in the face of industrialization and environmental degradation.
While the name Taska is relatively uncommon outside of its Finno-Ugric origins, it has endured as a symbolic representation of the rich cultural heritage and resilience of the Khanty and Mansi peoples of Western Siberia.
People
Taska + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Taska 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
Taska: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Taska?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Taska 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Taska a common name?
We classify Taska as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 24 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Taska most popular?
The single biggest year for Taska was 1974, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Taska is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Taska a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Taska 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.
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.