Mahealani
A Hawaiian name meaning "rayed moon" or "moon ray".
Name Census estimates that about 603 living Americans carry the first name Mahealani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mahealani today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mahealani births was 2018 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mahealani. 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
603
~ 1 in 568,415 Americans
Peak year
2018
23 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,220
Tracked since 1969
Census
Mahealani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 474 people with the first name Mahealani, which placed it at #21,431 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
#21,431
National first-name rank
People counted
474
474 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Two or more races
41.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mahealani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahealani is Two or More Races at 41.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.6%) and Hispanic (15.2%). 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 Mahealani 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 Mahealani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Two or more races41.8% · 198
- Asian and Pacific Islander34.6% · 164
- Hispanic or Latino15.2% · 72
- White6.3% · 30
- Black or African American1.5% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Mahealani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mahealani from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 151 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Mahealani remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mahealani 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 Mahealani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mahealanis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mahealani
Mahealani is a Hawaiian given name with a rich history and cultural significance. It is derived from the Hawaiian words "mahea," meaning "lunar phase," and "lani," meaning "heaven" or "sky." The name can be translated as "heavenly moon" or "moon in the heavens."
The name Mahealani has its origins in the ancient Hawaiian culture, where the moon and its cycles held great importance. The Hawaiians closely observed the phases of the moon and used it to guide their activities, such as fishing, planting, and navigation. The name reflects the reverence and respect the Hawaiian people had for the celestial bodies and their connection to the natural world.
In Hawaiian mythology, the moon goddess Hina was closely associated with the moon's phases and was believed to have a profound influence on various aspects of life, including fertility, childbirth, and the tides. The name Mahealani may have been bestowed upon children born during certain lunar phases or to honor the moon goddess.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mahealani can be found in the Hawaiian genealogies and oral traditions passed down through generations. Queen Mahealani, who ruled the island of Kauai in the late 18th century, was a notable figure in Hawaiian history. Her reign was marked by her wisdom and commitment to preserving the cultural traditions of her people.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Mahealani was Mahealani Dudoit (1890-1970), a Hawaiian musician and composer known for her contributions to the preservation of traditional Hawaiian music. She composed numerous songs and chants, many of which are still performed and celebrated today.
Mahealani Kamau'u (1913-1966) was a renowned Hawaiian hula dancer and choreographer. She played a significant role in reviving and perpetuating the art of hula, which had faced suppression during the period of Western influence in Hawaii. Her performances and teachings helped to keep the cultural traditions of hula alive.
Mahealani Wendt (1954-2021) was a celebrated Samoan-New Zealand author and poet. Her works explored themes of identity, culture, and the experiences of Pacific Islanders in the diaspora. She was recognized for her contributions to the literary landscape of the Pacific region and received several awards and honors during her lifetime.
Mahealani Richardson (born 1971) is a Native Hawaiian activist and educator known for her efforts in promoting the revitalization of the Hawaiian language and culture. She has worked tirelessly to preserve and pass on traditional knowledge and practices to younger generations, ensuring the continuity of her people's heritage.
People
Mahealani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mahealani 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
Mahealani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mahealani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 603 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mahealani 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 568,415 US residents.
Is Mahealani a common name?
We classify Mahealani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 619 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mahealani most popular?
The single biggest year for Mahealani was 2018, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mahealani is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mahealani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 474 people with the name Mahealani, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,431 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 Mahealani 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 Mahealani?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mahealani leans strongly female. 467 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 6 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Mahealani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahealani is Two or More Races at 41.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.6%) and Hispanic (15.2%). 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 Mahealani most often in the Census?
Two or More Races is the largest reported group for people named Mahealani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.8% (198 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 Mahealani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mahealani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mahealani 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 Mahealani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mahealani 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 Mahealani 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 named Mahealani?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.