Tamica
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly from Tamika.
Name Census estimates that about 1,968 living Americans carry the first name Tamica. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tamica today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tamica births was 1976 (180 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tamica. 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 Tamica with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 174,164 Americans
Peak year
1976
180 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2003 SSA rank
#15,571
Tracked since 1967
Census
Tamica in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,798 people with the first name Tamica, which placed it at #8,137 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
#8,137
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,798 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
84.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tamica
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tamica is Black at 84.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.5%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Tamica 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 Tamica at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American84.4% · 1,518
- White6.5% · 117
- Two or more races4.9% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 7
Popularity
Tamica: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tamica from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 1,220 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tamica 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 Tamica during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tamicas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Texas, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Tamica, while Missouri, Maryland, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 63 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tamica
The name Tamica is a relatively modern name that appears to have originated in the United States in the 20th century. It is likely a blend of the names Tamara and Tamika, both of which have roots in various languages and cultures.
Tamara is a name of Russian origin, derived from the Hebrew name Tamar, which means "date palm tree." It was popularized in the 19th century by the novel "Tamara" by Mikhail Lermontov. Tamika, on the other hand, is a name of African-American origin, potentially derived from the Swahili word "tamka," meaning "to speak."
While the exact origins of the name Tamica are unclear, it is believed to have emerged in the mid-20th century as a unique combination of these two names. It may have been influenced by the growing popularity of African-American and Russian-inspired names during this period.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Tamica can be found in the 1940 United States Census, where a small number of individuals were listed with this name. However, it did not gain widespread usage until the latter half of the 20th century.
Over the years, several notable individuals have borne the name Tamica. One such person is Tamica Washington (born 1975), an American singer and songwriter who has worked with various artists, including Erykah Badu and D'Angelo. Another is Tamica Mayes (born 1982), an American professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for several teams.
Additionally, Tamica Ward (born 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for the Connecticut Sun. Tamica Mallory (born 1980) is an American activist and co-founder of the Women's March on Washington. Tamica Leonard (born 1987) is an American professional basketball player who has played in the WNBA and overseas.
While the name Tamica is not as widely used as some other names, it has gained recognition and popularity among various communities, particularly in the United States. Its unique blend of cultural influences and modern appeal has contributed to its enduring presence in the naming traditions of the 20th and 21st centuries.
People
Tamica + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tamica 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
Tamica: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tamica?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,968 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tamica 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 174,164 US residents.
Is Tamica a common name?
We classify Tamica as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,139 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tamica most popular?
The single biggest year for Tamica was 1976, when 180 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tamica is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tamica in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,798 people with the name Tamica, or 0.60 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,137 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 Tamica 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 Tamica?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tamica appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,797 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 Tamica?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tamica is Black at 84.4%. The next largest groups are White (6.5%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Tamica most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tamica in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.4% (1,518 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 Tamica in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tamica a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tamica 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 Tamica still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tamica 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 Tamica 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 Americans are named Tamica?
See how many people share the name Tamica on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.