Tamika as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Tamika

What is the meaning of the name Tamika ?

The baby name Tamika is a girl name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced tə-MEE-kə.

Tamika is African American in Origin.

Tamika is best treated as a modern American English name rather than a securely attested Swahili or Japanese form. The earliest record is U.S. birth-registration use in the mid-20th century, with SSA data beginning in 1951. Linguistically it fits African American creative naming patterns: initial Ta-, stressed medial -mi-, and the feminine ending -ka, possibly shaped by Tammy, Tamara, Mika, or Tameka. Because no older root word is firmly established, its literal meaning is uncertain.

Usage clustered among African American girls born after the civil-rights era. Census-derived first-name tables for 2020 report Black or African American as the largest bearer group, and labor-market research using 1974-79 Massachusetts birth records treated Tamika as a distinctively Black female name. The name peaked in U.S. baby-name use in 1975, then declined after the 1980s. Variants include Tameka, Tamica, Tamieka, Tamikah, and Tamikia; notable bearers include basketball player Tamika Catchings and activist Tamika Mallory.