Nyoka
A feminine name of Swahili origin meaning "snake".
Name Census estimates that about 699 living Americans carry the first name Nyoka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nyoka today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nyoka births was 1943 (60 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nyoka. 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
699
~ 1 in 490,350 Americans
Peak year
1943
60 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2007 SSA rank
#19,756
Tracked since 1941
Census
Nyoka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 835 people with the first name Nyoka, which placed it at #14,182 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
#14,182
National first-name rank
People counted
835
835 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nyoka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nyoka is White at 46.5%. The next largest groups are Black (41.9%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Nyoka 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 Nyoka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.5% · 388
- Black or African American41.9% · 350
- Two or more races4.8% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 30
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.4% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 7
Popularity
Nyoka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nyoka from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 276 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nyoka 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 Nyoka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nyokas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Nyoka, while Virginia, Alabama, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nyoka
The name Nyoka has its origins in the Bantu languages spoken across various regions of Africa. It is derived from the Swahili word "nyoka," which translates to "snake" or "serpent." The name likely emerged among the coastal communities of East Africa, where Swahili was a prominent lingua franca dating back to the 7th century.
Historically, the symbolic significance of snakes in African cultures has been multifaceted. In some traditions, snakes were associated with wisdom, fertility, and renewal, while in others, they were perceived as guardians or embodiments of ancestral spirits. The name Nyoka may have been bestowed upon individuals to imbue them with the perceived traits or spiritual connections represented by these reptiles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nyoka can be found in the oral histories and folktales of the Makonde people, an ethnic group residing in Tanzania and Mozambique. In these narratives, Nyoka is often portrayed as a heroic figure or a wise elder, reflecting the cultural reverence for snakes and their symbolic importance.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nyoka. One such figure was Nyoka Ilunga, a prominent chief and leader of the Luba people in the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo during the late 18th century. He played a pivotal role in the expansion and consolidation of the Luba Kingdom, which was a major political and cultural force in Central Africa during that era.
Another individual of historical significance was Nyoka Ntobeki, a renowned South African artist and sculptor born in the early 20th century. Her intricate wood carvings depicting traditional Xhosa customs and beliefs have been widely acclaimed and exhibited in various museums and galleries around the world.
In the realm of literature, Nyoka Longo was a celebrated Congolese writer and poet active in the mid-20th century. His works, which explored themes of identity, colonialism, and the African experience, were influential in shaping the literary landscape of his time and inspiring subsequent generations of writers.
The name Nyoka has also been associated with figures in the realm of activism and social justice. Nyoka Muvangua, a Namibian human rights advocate born in the 1960s, played a crucial role in raising awareness about the plight of indigenous communities and advocating for their rights during the country's struggle for independence.
Lastly, Nyoka Masunda was a revered spiritual leader and healer among the Shona people of Zimbabwe in the late 19th century. His teachings and practices, rooted in traditional beliefs and rituals, continue to influence various aspects of Shona culture and spirituality to this day.
People
Nyoka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nyoka as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nyoka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nyoka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 699 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nyoka 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 490,350 US residents.
Is Nyoka a common name?
We classify Nyoka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 946 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nyoka most popular?
The single biggest year for Nyoka was 1943, when 60 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nyoka is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nyoka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 835 people with the name Nyoka, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,182 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 Nyoka 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 Nyoka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nyoka appears almost entirely female. Of the 828 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 Nyoka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nyoka is White at 46.5%. The next largest groups are Black (41.9%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Nyoka most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nyoka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.5% (388 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 Nyoka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nyoka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nyoka 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 Nyoka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nyoka 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 Nyoka 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 have the name Nyoka?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.