Tineka
A feminine name of uncertain origin, potentially a variant of the name Tina.
Name Census estimates that about 235 living Americans carry the first name Tineka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tineka today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tineka births was 1976 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tineka. 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.
People living today
235
~ 1 in 1,458,529 Americans
Peak year
1976
22 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1993 SSA rank
#13,322
Tracked since 1967
Census
Tineka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 236 people with the first name Tineka, which placed it at #34,545 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
#34,545
National first-name rank
People counted
236
236 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
75.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tineka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tineka is Black at 75.0%. The next largest groups are White (16.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Tineka 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 Tineka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.0% · 177
- White16.9% · 40
- Two or more races3.4% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
Popularity
Tineka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tineka 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 124 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
Tineka 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 Tineka 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 Tineka
The name Tineka has its roots in the ancient Bantu languages of Central and Southern Africa, dating back to the early centuries of the first millennium AD. It is believed to be derived from the word "tinka," which means "to shine" or "to be radiant" in several Bantu dialects spoken in present-day regions like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and Zambia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tineka can be found in the oral histories and folklore of the Luba people, an ethnic group native to the Katanga region of the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo. In these ancient stories, Tineka is often depicted as a powerful and revered figure, associated with the sun's rays and the blessings of light and warmth.
During the era of European exploration and colonization in Africa, the name Tineka gained wider recognition and spread to other parts of the continent. In the late 19th century, a prominent Xhosa chief from the Eastern Cape region of South Africa, named Tineka Siwisa, played a significant role in the resistance against British colonial expansion.
Another notable figure bearing the name Tineka was Tineka Bhebhe, a Ndebele princess and daughter of King Lobengula, who ruled the Ndebele Kingdom in present-day Zimbabwe in the late 19th century. Tineka Bhebhe was known for her resilience and courage during the turbulent period of the Matabele Wars against British forces.
In the 20th century, Tineka Gwangwa, a South African activist and trade unionist, made a name for herself as a vocal advocate for workers' rights and as a leading figure in the struggle against apartheid. She was born in 1925 and dedicated her life to fighting for social justice and equality.
Tineka Bhengu, born in 1952 in South Africa, is another prominent figure who carried the name. She was a renowned educator and advocate for children's rights, working tirelessly to improve access to quality education in underprivileged communities.
While the name Tineka has its roots in African cultures, it has gained recognition and popularity globally, transcending cultural and linguistic boundaries. Its association with light, radiance, and strength has made it a cherished name for many parents around the world.
People
Tineka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tineka 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
Tineka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tineka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 235 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tineka 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 1,458,529 US residents.
Is Tineka a common name?
We classify Tineka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 255 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tineka most popular?
The single biggest year for Tineka was 1976, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tineka is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tineka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 236 people with the name Tineka, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,545 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 Tineka 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 Tineka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tineka appears almost entirely female. Of the 231 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 Tineka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tineka is Black at 75.0%. The next largest groups are White (16.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Tineka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tineka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.0% (177 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 Tineka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tineka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tineka 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 Tineka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tineka 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 Tineka 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 called Tineka?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.