Madai
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "precious jewel" or "ornament".
Name Census estimates that about 560 living Americans carry the first name Madai. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Madai today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Madai births was 2005 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Madai. 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.
People living today
560
~ 1 in 612,061 Americans
Peak year
2005
27 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,696
Tracked since 1979
Popularity
Madai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Madai from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 229 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Madai 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 Madai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Madais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Madai, while Illinois, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 55 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Madai
The name Madai is believed to have its origins in the ancient Semitic languages of the Middle East, possibly derived from the Hebrew word "madai," which means "middle" or "central." This suggests that the name may have been used to refer to someone from the central region or a central location.
In ancient Hebrew texts, Madai is mentioned as the name of one of the sons of Japheth, who was a son of Noah according to the Book of Genesis. This biblical reference suggests that the name has been in use since ancient times, potentially dating back to the period after the Great Flood described in the Old Testament.
The name Madai is also closely associated with the ancient Median people, who lived in the region of northwestern Iran during the 1st millennium BC. The Medes were an influential Indo-European group who established the Median Empire, which was later conquered by the Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Madai was Madai, the eponymous ancestor of the Median people, mentioned in the ancient Babylonian text known as the Behistun Inscription. This inscription, dating back to the 6th century BC, was created by the Persian king Darius the Great and recounts his conquests and the history of the region.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Madai, including:
1. Madai ibn Malik (c. 700 AD), a prominent Arab mathematician and astronomer from Basra, known for his contributions to the development of trigonometry and spherical geometry.
2. Madai al-Zahiri (c. 1150 AD), an Islamic scholar and judge from Damascus, known for his expertise in Zahiri jurisprudence and his influential legal writings.
3. Madai Khan (c. 1600 AD), a Mughal nobleman and military commander who served under the Mughal Emperor Akbar and played a significant role in the conquest of Gujarat.
4. Madai Majnun (c. 1700 AD), a Persian poet and mystic from Isfahan, known for his devotional poetry and his association with the Sufi tradition.
5. Madai Rana (c. 1850 AD), a prominent ruler of the Rana dynasty in Mewar, India, who was known for his military prowess and his efforts to modernize the region.
While the name Madai has its roots in ancient cultures and languages, it has endured and been used across various regions and time periods, reflecting its rich historical significance and cultural connections.
People
Madai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Madai 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
Madai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Madai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 560 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Madai 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 612,061 US residents.
Is Madai a common name?
We classify Madai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 571 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Madai most popular?
The single biggest year for Madai was 2005, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Madai is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Madai a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Madai 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.
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.