President Barack Obama walks hand-in-hand with first lady Michelle Obama to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington in this May 23 file photo. Many black women hope to meet their own “Barack.”

New York ? Monica Weeks has met many men, but at age 51 she says she still hasn’t found her “Barack.”

Among Weeks and her friends, President Barack Obama’s name has become shorthand for a black man with integrity, character and spirituality, one who loves and values his wife and makes his family a priority — in other words, the kind of man that many black women had despaired of finding.

Weeks said probably every single woman she knows is looking for her “Barack.”

“He absolutely makes me think it’s attainable,” said Weeks, a divorced mom in Somerset, N.J. “For women who are older and seeking a man, I think we can look at him and say, ‘All is not lost.”‘

The story is the same elsewhere among black women, who say the new code word for Prince Charming has become so commonplace that they have been asked “Have you found your Barack?” or told others “I’m looking for my Barack.”

Obama’s sex appeal hasn’t hurt — what other president would get high marks in a swimsuit competition? But he has touched a nerve among black women in particular, who consider him an IBM (Ideal Black Man) — educated, eloquent, tall, attractive, family oriented, ambitious and down to earth.

For years, single black women have been commiserating about the perceived shortage of eligible black men. It’s laughed about in movies (“Waiting to Exhale”) and backed up with statistics: The May unemployment rate for black men was 16.8 percent for those ages 20 and older, compared to a national rate of 9.8 percent for all adult men. Black women outnumber black men almost 2-to-1 on college campuses. Most black babies are born to unwed mothers.

“There are a large number of African-American women who have largely given up on finding a mate,” said Sheri Parks, associate professor of American studies at the University of Maryland. “Their men are not there.”

Renee Breeden didn’t have much hope she would find a life partner after dealing with what she called “extremely selfish” black men. At one point, the 35-year-old divorced mom had stopped dating black men altogether.

But watching the Obamas has renewed her faith that she can have a loving relationship with a black man.

“There’s no denying the love between them, and it made me feel like ‘Wow, there’s still hope for me,'” said Breeden, an administrative assistant and online radio talk show host in New York. “There is still someone who is going to look at me and see my value.”