Tkeyah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "virtuous" or "pious".
Name Census estimates that about 989 living Americans carry the first name Tkeyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Tkeyah today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tkeyah births was 1994 (172 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tkeyah. 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 Tkeyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
989
~ 1 in 346,567 Americans
Peak year
1994
172 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2008 SSA rank
#12,504
Tracked since 1990
Census
Tkeyah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 804 people with the first name Tkeyah, which placed it at #14,601 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
#14,601
National first-name rank
People counted
804
804 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tkeyah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tkeyah is Black at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Tkeyah 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 Tkeyah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.7% · 737
- Two or more races3.2% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 19
- White1.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 3
Popularity
Tkeyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tkeyah from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 927 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tkeyah 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 Tkeyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tkeyahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Georgia, Florida, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Tkeyah, while Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tkeyah
The name Tkeyah has its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, which was spoken in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3500 BC. It is derived from the Sumerian word "tkeya," meaning "blessed" or "favored by the gods." This name was likely given to children born during auspicious times or after significant events, as it was believed that they were destined for greatness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tkeyah can be found in the Sumerian King List, an ancient text that chronicles the rulers of the region. The list mentions a king named Tkeyah who ruled over the city-state of Uruk around 2700 BC. While little is known about his reign, the inclusion of his name in this important historical document suggests that he was a significant figure in Sumerian history.
In later centuries, the name Tkeyah appeared in various religious texts and inscriptions throughout the ancient Near East. For example, a clay tablet from the Babylonian era (circa 1800 BC) mentions a high priestess named Tkeyah who served in the temple of the goddess Ishtar. This suggests that the name was not only used for royalty but also for individuals of religious importance.
One of the most notable figures in history to bear the name Tkeyah was a renowned scholar and astronomer who lived in ancient Persia (modern-day Iran) around 500 BC. Known as Tkeyah of Susa, he is credited with making significant contributions to the field of astronomy, including the development of a calendar system and the observation of celestial bodies.
Another famous individual named Tkeyah was a skilled architect who lived in the city of Palmyra (modern-day Syria) during the 3rd century AD. He is best known for designing and overseeing the construction of the iconic Temple of Bel, a magnificent structure that still stands today as a testament to his architectural genius.
In the medieval period, Tkeyah was the name of a respected Islamic scholar and theologian who lived in Baghdad during the 9th century AD. He authored several treatises on Islamic law and philosophy, and his works were widely studied and discussed throughout the Islamic world.
Tkeyah was also the name of a powerful military commander who served under the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan in the 13th century AD. He played a crucial role in many of the Mongol conquests, leading his troops to victory in numerous battles across Asia and Europe.
Despite its ancient origins, the name Tkeyah continues to be used in various cultures and regions around the world, carrying with it a rich history and a sense of significance and blessing.
People
Tkeyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tkeyah 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
Tkeyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tkeyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 989 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tkeyah 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 346,567 US residents.
Is Tkeyah a common name?
We classify Tkeyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 90% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,022 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tkeyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Tkeyah was 1994, when 172 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tkeyah is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tkeyah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 804 people with the name Tkeyah, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,601 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 Tkeyah 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 Tkeyah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tkeyah appears almost entirely female. Of the 807 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 Tkeyah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tkeyah is Black at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.2%) and Hispanic (2.4%). 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 Tkeyah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tkeyah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (737 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 Tkeyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tkeyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tkeyah 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 Tkeyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tkeyah 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 Tkeyah 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 Tkeyah?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.