Mahamadou
A masculine Arabic name meaning "praiseworthy" or "highly praised".
Name Census estimates that about 386 living Americans carry the first name Mahamadou. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mahamadou today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mahamadou births was 2008 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mahamadou. 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 Mahamadou with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
386
~ 1 in 887,965 Americans
Peak year
2008
24 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,519
Tracked since 1992
Census
Mahamadou in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 538 people with the first name Mahamadou, which placed it at #19,583 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
#19,583
National first-name rank
People counted
538
538 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
95.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mahamadou
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahamadou is Black at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Mahamadou 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 Mahamadou at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American95.2% · 512
- Two or more races1.7% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 7
- White1.1% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Mahamadou: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mahamadou from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 167 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
Mahamadou 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 Mahamadou during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mahamadous live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mahamadou
The given name Mahamadou has its origins in the Fula language, which is spoken primarily in West Africa, particularly in countries like Senegal, Guinea, Mali, and Nigeria. The name is derived from the Arabic name Muhammad, which means "praised" or "praiseworthy." It is a common name among the Fula people, who are known for their rich cultural heritage and Islamic roots.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mahamadou can be traced back to the 13th century, when the Fula people began to adopt Islam and incorporate Arabic names into their culture. The name gained popularity among the Fula community due to its religious significance and association with the Prophet Muhammad.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Mahamadou was Mahamadou Lamine Dramé, a renowned Fula scholar and religious leader from Senegal, who lived in the 19th century. He played a pivotal role in spreading Islamic education and promoting the Fula language and culture.
Another notable figure with the name Mahamadou was Mahamadou Issoufou, a prominent Nigerien politician who served as the President of Niger from 2011 to 2021. He was born in 1952 and was widely respected for his efforts in promoting democracy and economic development in his country.
In the realm of literature, Mahamadou Aliou Sow, a Senegalese writer and poet, made significant contributions to the Fula literary canon. He was born in 1940 and his works explored themes of identity, tradition, and modernity within the Fula community.
Mahamadou Niang, a Senegalese football player born in 1980, achieved international fame for his skills on the field. He played for several European clubs, including Marseille and Fenerbahçe, and represented Senegal in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Mahamadou Diarra, a Malian football player born in 1981, also made a name for himself in the world of sports. He played for several prestigious clubs, including Real Madrid and Monaco, and was a key member of the Malian national team.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Mahamadou throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence and cultural significance within various African communities.
People
Mahamadou + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mahamadou 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
Mahamadou: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mahamadou?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 386 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mahamadou 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 887,965 US residents.
Is Mahamadou a common name?
We classify Mahamadou as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 391 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mahamadou most popular?
The single biggest year for Mahamadou was 2008, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mahamadou is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mahamadou in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 538 people with the name Mahamadou, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,583 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 Mahamadou 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 Mahamadou?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mahamadou appears almost entirely male. Of the 529 people counted with this name, 99.2% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Mahamadou?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahamadou is Black at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.7%) and Hispanic (1.3%). 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 Mahamadou most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Mahamadou in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.2% (512 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 Mahamadou in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mahamadou a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mahamadou in the SSA data are male. 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 Mahamadou still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mahamadou 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 Mahamadou 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 have Mahamadou as a first name?
See how many people share the name Mahamadou on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.