Shamika
A feminine name with Arabic roots, meaning "beautiful" or "high".
Name Census estimates that about 4,760 living Americans carry the first name Shamika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shamika today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shamika births was 1981 (337 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shamika. 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 Shamika with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.8K
~ 1 in 72,007 Americans
Peak year
1981
337 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1990 SSA rank
#7,957
Tracked since 1971
Census
Shamika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,015 people with the first name Shamika, which placed it at #4,582 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
#4,582
National first-name rank
People counted
4.0K
4,015 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shamika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shamika is Black at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Shamika 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 Shamika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.0% · 3,615
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 127
- Two or more races3.0% · 120
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 84
- White1.3% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 15
Gender
Gender distribution for Shamika
Out of the 5,067 babies given the name Shamika since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Shamika as a male name
- Ranked #7,957 in 1990
- 6 male births in 1990
- Peak: 1990 (6 births)
Shamika as a female name
- Ranked #15,382 in 2018
- 6 female births in 2018
- Peak: 1981 (337 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shamika appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,018 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Shamika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shamika from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 2,772 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shamika 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 Shamika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shamikas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. New York, Georgia, California recorded the most babies named Shamika, while Kansas, Washington, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 150 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shamika
The name Shamika is of Sanskrit origin, derived from the word "shami," which means "tree" or "plant." This name is believed to have originated in ancient India, where it was traditionally given to girls born under auspicious astrological circumstances or during significant religious ceremonies.
In Hindu mythology, the name Shamika is associated with the goddess Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva. Parvati is often depicted as a nurturing and benevolent figure, representing fertility, strength, and the abundance of nature. This connection may have influenced the popularity of the name among Hindu families.
The earliest recorded use of the name Shamika can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit texts and inscriptions from the 4th century BCE. During this period, the name was commonly used by members of the Brahmin caste, which comprised scholars, priests, and intellectuals.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Shamika was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 7th century CE. Her collection of poems, known as the "Shamika Kavya," is considered a significant contribution to the literary traditions of ancient India.
Another notable individual with the name Shamika was a 12th-century Hindu mystic and philosopher from the Nath tradition. She is revered for her teachings on spiritual enlightenment and her influence on the development of yoga and meditation practices.
In the 16th century, Shamika Bai was a prominent courtesan and poetess in the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Her works, which explored themes of love, spirituality, and the human condition, were celebrated throughout the Mughal Empire and beyond.
During the 19th century, Shamika Gandhi, a pioneering social reformer and educator, played a significant role in promoting women's education and empowerment in colonial India. Her efforts to establish schools and vocational training centers for girls have had a lasting impact on the country's educational landscape.
In more recent times, Shamika Ravi, an Indian-American economist and author, has gained recognition for her work on global development, poverty reduction, and gender equity. Her research and advocacy have influenced policy decisions at both national and international levels.
People
Shamika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shamika as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shamika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shamika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,760 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shamika 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 72,007 US residents.
Is Shamika a common name?
We classify Shamika as "Rare". It ranks above 96.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,067 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shamika most popular?
The single biggest year for Shamika was 1981, when 337 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shamika is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shamika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,015 people with the name Shamika, or 1.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,582 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 Shamika 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 Shamika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shamika appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,018 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Shamika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shamika is Black at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Shamika most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shamika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (3,615 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 Shamika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shamika a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Shamika 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 Shamika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shamika 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 Shamika 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 Shamika?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.