Ma
A Chinese feminine given name meaning "mother", "horse", or "hemp".
Name Census estimates that about 555 living Americans carry the first name Ma. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ma today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ma births was 1990 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ma. 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 Ma with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
555
~ 1 in 617,575 Americans
Peak year
1990
31 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2018 SSA rank
#13,282
Tracked since 1924
Census
Ma in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 16,452 people with the first name Ma, which placed it at #1,802 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
#1,802
National first-name rank
People counted
16K
16,452 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
5.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
73.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ma
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ma is Hispanic at 73.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.3%) and White (6.4%). 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 Ma 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 Ma at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino73.7% · 12,131
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.3% · 2,846
- White6.4% · 1,046
- Black or African American2.0% · 325
- Two or more races0.6% · 95
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 9
Popularity
Ma: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ma from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 217 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
Ma 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 Ma during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Ma, while Illinois, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 51 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ma
The given name Ma has its origins in various cultures and languages around the world. It is a short and simple name that holds diverse meanings and historical significance.
In Chinese culture, the name Ma is derived from the character "马" which means "horse." It is a common surname and can also be used as a given name, especially for boys. The name has a long history in China, dating back to ancient times when horses were highly revered animals.
In Sanskrit, the name Ma is derived from the word "Maa," which means "mother." It is a sacred name in Hindu culture and is often used as a term of endearment for mothers or to address the divine feminine energy. The name has been mentioned in various Hindu scriptures and texts.
In Egyptian mythology, Ma was the personification of truth, balance, and order. She was often depicted as a goddess with a feather on her head, symbolizing truth and justice. The name was associated with the concept of cosmic harmony and the cyclical nature of the universe.
In the historical records, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ma is from ancient Egypt. There was a queen named Ma'atmuck who ruled around 1550 BCE during the 17th Dynasty. She was known for her political influence and her support of the arts and culture.
Another notable figure with the name Ma was Ma Yuan, a Chinese painter and poet who lived during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 CE). He was renowned for his landscape paintings and his mastery of the gongbi (meticulous brushwork) style.
In the realm of philosophy, Ma Duanlin (1245-1322 CE) was a Chinese scholar and historian who wrote the comprehensive historical work "Wenxian Tongkao" (General Study of Literary Remains). His work was instrumental in preserving and documenting China's rich cultural heritage.
In the Buddhist tradition, Ma Tsu (709-788 CE), also known as Mazu or Mara, was a Chinese Zen master who played a significant role in the development of the Chan (Zen) school of Buddhism. He was known for his unconventional teaching methods and his emphasis on direct experience over theoretical knowledge.
Moving to the modern era, Ma Huateng (born 1971) is a Chinese business magnate and co-founder of Tencent, one of the largest internet and technology companies in the world. He is one of the wealthiest individuals in China and has been instrumental in shaping the country's digital landscape.
These are just a few examples of the diverse historical figures who have carried the name Ma, showcasing its rich cultural heritage and significance across various civilizations and time periods.
People
Ma + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ma: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ma?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 555 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ma 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 617,575 US residents.
Is Ma a common name?
We classify Ma as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 630 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ma most popular?
The single biggest year for Ma was 1990, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ma is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ma in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 16,452 people with the name Ma, or 5.45 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,802 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 Ma 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 Ma?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ma leans strongly female. 15,236 people counted with this name were female (92.6%), compared with 1,214 male bearers (7.4%). 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 Ma?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ma is Hispanic at 73.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.3%) and White (6.4%). 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 Ma most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Ma in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.7% (12,131 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 Ma in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ma a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ma 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 Ma still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ma 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 Ma 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 common is the name Ma?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.