Tyreka
A feminine name of Greek origin likely meaning "delicate" or "small".
Name Census estimates that about 173 living Americans carry the first name Tyreka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tyreka today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tyreka births was 1991 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tyreka. 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
173
~ 1 in 1,981,239 Americans
Peak year
1991
15 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2001 SSA rank
#17,836
Tracked since 1978
Census
Tyreka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 171 people with the first name Tyreka, which placed it at #42,203 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
#42,203
National first-name rank
People counted
171
171 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tyreka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tyreka is Black at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). 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 Tyreka 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 Tyreka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.2% · 161
- Two or more races2.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 3
- White1.2% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 1
Popularity
Tyreka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tyreka from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 101 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
Tyreka 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 Tyreka 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 Tyreka
The name Tyreka has its origins in ancient Greece, where it was derived from the Greek words "tyros" meaning "cheese" and "ekho" meaning "to have" or "to possess." This combination suggests a meaning along the lines of "one who possesses cheese" or "cheese-owner." The name's roots can be traced back to around the 5th century BCE, a time when cheese production and trade played a significant role in the Greek economy.
In the early centuries of its existence, the name Tyreka was primarily associated with individuals involved in the cheese-making industry or those who owned or managed dairy farms. It was a relatively uncommon name, primarily found in rural areas of Greece where cheese production was prevalent. Historical records from this period, such as agricultural records and trade documents, occasionally mention individuals bearing the name Tyreka.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tyreka can be found in a fragment of a play by the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, who lived from around 446 BCE to 386 BCE. In this fragment, a character named Tyreka is mentioned in passing, suggesting that the name was in use during that time period.
As time passed, the name Tyreka gradually spread beyond its initial associations with cheese-making and dairy farming. By the 2nd century BCE, it had become a more widely used name among the Greek population, albeit still relatively uncommon.
One notable figure in history who bore the name Tyreka was a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 3rd century BCE. While little is known about her life, she is believed to have made contributions to the field of geometry and is mentioned in several philosophical texts from that era.
Another individual with the name Tyreka was a wealthy merchant who lived in the city of Corinth during the 1st century BCE. Historical records indicate that he amassed a considerable fortune through the trade of various goods, including cheese and other dairy products.
In the 2nd century CE, a woman named Tyreka is mentioned in a collection of letters written by the Roman orator and philosopher Fronto. These letters suggest that Tyreka was a respected teacher and tutor in the city of Rome during that time period.
During the Byzantine era, which lasted from the 4th to the 15th century CE, the name Tyreka resurfaced in various historical documents and records. One notable individual was a Byzantine noblewoman named Tyreka, who lived in the 9th century CE and was known for her philanthropic efforts and patronage of the arts.
While the name Tyreka has largely fallen out of common use in modern times, it remains a part of the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of ancient Greece, serving as a reminder of the importance of cheese-making and dairy farming in that society.
People
Tyreka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tyreka 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
Tyreka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tyreka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 173 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tyreka 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 1,981,239 US residents.
Is Tyreka a common name?
We classify Tyreka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 180 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tyreka most popular?
The single biggest year for Tyreka was 1991, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tyreka 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 Tyreka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 171 people with the name Tyreka, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,203 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 Tyreka 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 Tyreka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tyreka leans strongly female. 159 people counted with this name were female (95.2%), compared with 8 male bearers (4.8%). 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 Tyreka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tyreka is Black at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.8%). 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 Tyreka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tyreka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (161 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 Tyreka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tyreka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tyreka 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 Tyreka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tyreka 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 Tyreka 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 Tyreka?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.