Takila
A feminine name of unknown origin potentially meaning "light of heaven".
Name Census estimates that about 191 living Americans carry the first name Takila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Takila today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Takila births was 1991 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Takila. 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
191
~ 1 in 1,794,525 Americans
Peak year
1991
17 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1998 SSA rank
#12,278
Tracked since 1975
Census
Takila in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 190 people with the first name Takila, which placed it at #39,614 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
#39,614
National first-name rank
People counted
190
190 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Takila
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Takila is Black at 91.1%. The next largest groups are White (3.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.1%). 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 Takila 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 Takila at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.1% · 173
- White3.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
- Two or more races1.1% · 2
Popularity
Takila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Takila from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 109 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Takila remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Takila 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 Takila 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 Takila
The name Takila is believed to have originated in the Mayan culture of Central America, with its roots dating back to the pre-Columbian era. The name is thought to be derived from the Mayan word "tak'ilha," which translates to "sun warrior" or "one who fights for the sun."
During the height of the Mayan civilization, between the 3rd and 9th centuries AD, the name Takila was likely associated with the Mayan sun god, Kinich Ahau. Takila may have been a name given to warriors or individuals with a strong connection to the sun's power and symbolism.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Takila can be found in the Popol Vuh, a sacred text of the K'iche' Maya people. This ancient manuscript, believed to have been written in the 16th century, contains mythological narratives and histories of the Maya.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who bore the name Takila. One such figure was Takila, a Mayan ruler who governed the city-state of Yaxchilan in the 8th century AD. His reign is commemorated in intricate stone carvings and sculptures found in the ruins of Yaxchilan.
Another historical figure known as Takila was a Mayan warrior and noble who lived during the 9th century AD. He is mentioned in several inscriptions and codices as a prominent figure in the Mayan city of Chichen Itza.
In the 16th century, during the Spanish conquest of the Maya region, a Mayan leader named Takila is recorded as having led a rebellion against the Spanish forces in the Yucatan Peninsula. While the rebellion was ultimately unsuccessful, Takila's name has been preserved in historical accounts of this period.
A more recent notable figure with the name Takila was Takila Ishmuhammad, an African-American activist and community leader from Detroit, Michigan, who lived from 1935 to 2003. He was known for his efforts in promoting education and social justice in the African-American community.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Takila, a name with deep roots in the Mayan culture and a connection to the sun's symbolism and power.
People
Takila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Takila 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
Takila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Takila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 191 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Takila 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 1,794,525 US residents.
Is Takila a common name?
We classify Takila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 203 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Takila most popular?
The single biggest year for Takila was 1991, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Takila 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 Takila in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 190 people with the name Takila, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,614 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 Takila 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 Takila?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Takila appears almost entirely female. Of the 184 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 Takila?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Takila is Black at 91.1%. The next largest groups are White (3.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.1%). 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 Takila most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Takila in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (173 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 Takila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Takila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Takila 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 Takila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Takila 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 Takila 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 Takila?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.