Mahala
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly from Hebrew meaning "tender" or "delicate".
Name Census estimates that about 1,778 living Americans carry the first name Mahala. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mahala today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mahala births was 2006 (74 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mahala. 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 Mahala with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 192,775 Americans
Peak year
2006
74 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,223
Tracked since 1880
Census
Mahala in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,652 people with the first name Mahala, which placed it at #8,705 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
#8,705
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,652 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mahala
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahala is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.4%) and Black (6.8%). 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 Mahala 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 Mahala at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.9% · 1,204
- Two or more races10.4% · 172
- Black or African American6.8% · 113
- Hispanic or Latino5.4% · 90
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 50
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 23
Popularity
Mahala: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mahala from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 627 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
Mahala 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 Mahala during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mahalas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Mahala, while West Virginia, Arkansas, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mahala
The name Mahala is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language, derived from the Hebrew word "mahalah," which means "tender" or "delicate." It is a feminine name that has been in use for centuries, primarily in Jewish and Christian communities.
Mahala is an alternative spelling of the biblical name Mahalah, which appears in the Old Testament. In the Book of Exodus, Mahalah is mentioned as one of the daughters of Zelophehad, who petitioned Moses for the right to inherit their father's land, as he had no sons.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Mahala can be found in the 17th century. Mahala Hore (1598-1635) was an English Puritan woman who was accused of witchcraft during the infamous Salem Witch Trials in colonial Massachusetts.
Another notable person with the name Mahala was Mahala Ranney (1795-1888), an early American pioneer and frontierwoman who settled in Illinois. She is remembered for her resilience and courage in the face of the challenges of frontier life.
In the late 19th century, Mahala Merrick (1853-1945) was a prominent American educator and suffragist who advocated for women's rights and played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement.
Mahala Van Rensselaer (1875-1965) was an American philanthropist and socialite who was known for her charitable work and support of various organizations, including the American Red Cross and the Girl Scouts of the USA.
Mahala Anderton (1893-1972) was a British author and playwright who wrote several novels and plays that explored themes of social injustice and the struggles of working-class women in early 20th century Britain.
While the name Mahala has Jewish and Christian roots, it has also been used by people of various backgrounds and cultures over the centuries, reflecting its enduring appeal and versatility.
People
Mahala + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mahala 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
Mahala: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mahala?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,778 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mahala 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 192,775 US residents.
Is Mahala a common name?
We classify Mahala as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,873 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mahala most popular?
The single biggest year for Mahala was 2006, when 74 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mahala is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mahala in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,652 people with the name Mahala, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,705 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 Mahala 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 Mahala?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mahala appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,648 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Mahala?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahala is White at 72.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.4%) and Black (6.8%). 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 Mahala most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mahala in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.9% (1,204 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 Mahala in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mahala a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mahala 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 Mahala still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mahala 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 Mahala 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 are called Mahala?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.