Camari
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "moon" or "beautiful as the moon".
Name Census estimates that about 2,633 living Americans carry the first name Camari. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 58.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Camari today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Camari births was 2021 (150 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Camari. 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 Camari with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Camari sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
- • Camari is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.6K
~ 1 in 130,176 Americans
Peak year
2021
150 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,859
Tracked since 1993
Census
Camari in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,547 people with the first name Camari, which placed it at #9,123 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
#9,123
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,547 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Camari
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Camari is Black at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Camari 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 Camari at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.8% · 1,343
- Two or more races7.0% · 108
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 44
- White2.7% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Camari
Camari is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 2,657 total registrations, 1,566 (58.9%) were male and 1,091 (41.1%) were female.
Camari as a male name
- Ranked #1,859 in 2024
- 86 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (87 births)
Camari as a female name
- Ranked #4,043 in 2024
- 36 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (68 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Camari on both sides of the split. Of the 1,539 people counted with this name, 905 were male (58.8%) and 634 were female (41.2%).
Popularity
Camari: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Camari from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,134 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Camari remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Camari 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 Camari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Camaris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Florida, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Camari, while Wisconsin, South Carolina, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 44 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Camari
The name Camari is believed to have its origins in the ancient Yoruba language of West Africa. The Yoruba people are an ethnic group predominantly found in modern-day Nigeria and parts of Benin and Togo. The name is thought to derive from the Yoruba word "omo ari," which translates to "child of grace" or "child of good fortune."
In the rich oral tradition of the Yoruba culture, the name Camari is often associated with tales of strength, resilience, and the triumph of the human spirit. It is said to have been bestowed upon children born during times of hardship or adversity, serving as a symbolic invocation for a life filled with blessings and prosperity.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Camari can be traced back to the late 15th century, during the peak of the Oyo Empire, a powerful Yoruba state that flourished in what is now southwestern Nigeria. It is believed that the name gained popularity among the nobility and ruling class, who sought to imbue their offspring with the virtues of grace and good fortune.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Camari. One of the earliest recorded figures was Camari Alao (1490-1554), a renowned Yoruba warrior and military strategist who played a pivotal role in the expansion of the Oyo Empire. His exploits and leadership skills were celebrated in numerous oral traditions and folklore.
In the 18th century, Camari Akindele (1725-1802) was a respected Yoruba philosopher and scholar, known for his contributions to the study of Ifa, the traditional Yoruba divination system. His writings and teachings on spirituality and ethics had a lasting impact on Yoruba cultural and intellectual life.
During the 19th century, Camari Ogunmola (1825-1892) was a renowned Yoruba artist and sculptor, whose intricate woodcarvings and mastery of traditional techniques earned him widespread acclaim. His works were celebrated for their intricate detail and representation of Yoruba mythology and cultural traditions.
In the realm of literature, Camari Akande (1920-1985) was a celebrated Yoruba poet and playwright, whose works explored themes of identity, tradition, and the complexities of modern African life. Her plays and poetry were widely acclaimed for their lyrical beauty and cultural significance.
More recently, Camari Sokunbi (1975-present) is a Nigerian-American entrepreneur and financial educator, known for her work in promoting financial literacy and empowering women through her online platform and best-selling books.
While the name Camari has its roots in the Yoruba culture, it has since been adopted and embraced by people around the world, transcending cultural and geographical boundaries. Its enduring appeal lies in its rich historical significance and the positive connotations of grace and good fortune it carries.
People
Camari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Camari as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Camari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Camari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,633 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Camari 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 130,176 US residents.
Is Camari a common name?
We classify Camari as "Rare". It ranks above 94.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,657 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Camari most popular?
The single biggest year for Camari was 2021, when 150 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Camari is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Camari in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,547 people with the name Camari, or 0.51 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,123 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 Camari 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 Camari?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Camari on both sides of the split. Of the 1,539 people counted with this name, 905 were male (58.8%) and 634 were female (41.2%). 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 Camari?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Camari is Black at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Camari most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Camari in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (1,343 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 Camari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Camari a male name?
Yes, 58.9% of people registered as Camari in the SSA data are male. 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 Camari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Camari 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 Camari 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 Camari?
See how many people share the name Camari on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.