Tinika
A feminine name of Native American origin meaning "delicate one".
Name Census estimates that about 521 living Americans carry the first name Tinika. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tinika today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tinika births was 1976 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tinika. 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 Tinika with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
521
~ 1 in 657,878 Americans
Peak year
1976
49 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1996 SSA rank
#13,402
Tracked since 1967
Census
Tinika in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 445 people with the first name Tinika, which placed it at #22,388 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
#22,388
National first-name rank
People counted
445
445 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
87.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tinika
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tinika is Black at 87.2%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Tinika 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 Tinika at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American87.2% · 388
- White7.0% · 31
- Two or more races3.6% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Popularity
Tinika: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tinika from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 313 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
Tinika 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 Tinika during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tinikas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Illinois, North Carolina, Maryland recorded the most babies named Tinika, while Virginia, Missouri, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tinika
The name Tinika is believed to have originated in West Africa, particularly among the Akan people of modern-day Ghana and Ivory Coast. It is derived from the Akan word "tini," which means "truth" or "honesty." The name first appeared around the 16th century during the height of the Ashanti Empire in the region.
While the exact etymology of Tinika is unclear, some scholars suggest it may have been influenced by the Twi language spoken by the Akan people. Variations of the name, such as Tinika or Tiniker, can be found in historical records from the region, indicating its widespread use.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tinika can be found in the writings of Dutch explorer and author Samuel Brun, who documented his travels in West Africa in the late 17th century. Brun mentions encountering a young woman named Tinika during his visit to an Akan village.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Tinika. One such figure was Tinika Inouwala, a renowned Akan storyteller and oral historian who lived in the early 19th century. Her tales and narratives provided valuable insights into the cultural traditions and beliefs of her people.
Another prominent figure was Tinika Asiedu, a influential political leader and activist in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) during the early 20th century. She played a crucial role in the country's independence movement and advocated for women's rights and education.
In the realm of arts and culture, Tinika Obeng was a celebrated Ghanaian painter and sculptor in the 1960s and 1970s. Her vibrant works, inspired by Akan motifs and symbolism, gained international recognition and are now part of numerous museum collections.
Additionally, Tinika Essien, born in 1932, was a pioneering Ghanaian journalist and broadcaster. She was one of the first women to host a radio program in the country and used her platform to address social issues and promote literacy among women.
Lastly, Tinika Fofana, an Ivorian human rights activist born in 1948, dedicated her life to advocating for the rights of children and women in West Africa. Her tireless efforts earned her numerous awards and recognition, including the prestigious Amnesty International Ambassadors of Conscience Award in 2005.
People
Tinika + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tinika 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
Tinika: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tinika?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 521 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tinika 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 657,878 US residents.
Is Tinika a common name?
We classify Tinika as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 565 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tinika most popular?
The single biggest year for Tinika was 1976, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tinika is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tinika in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 445 people with the name Tinika, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,388 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 Tinika 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 Tinika?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tinika appears almost entirely female. Of the 448 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Tinika?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tinika is Black at 87.2%. The next largest groups are White (7.0%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Tinika most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tinika in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (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 Tinika in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tinika a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tinika 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 Tinika still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tinika 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 Tinika 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 are named Tinika?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.