Mahki
A variant of Micha, of Hebrew origin signifying "Who is like God?".
Name Census estimates that about 1,001 living Americans carry the first name Mahki. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mahki today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mahki births was 2012 (73 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mahki. 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.
Key insights
- • Mahki is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 342,412 Americans
Peak year
2012
73 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,346
Tracked since 1996
Census
Mahki in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 663 people with the first name Mahki, which placed it at #16,857 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
#16,857
National first-name rank
People counted
663
663 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mahki
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahki is Black at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.7%) and Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Mahki 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 Mahki at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.5% · 527
- Two or more races9.7% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 39
- White4.4% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Popularity
Mahki: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mahki from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 503 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mahki 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 Mahki during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mahkis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Florida, New York recorded the most babies named Mahki, while Virginia, Ohio, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mahki
The name Mahki has its origins in the Native American Algonquian languages, where it is believed to have been derived from the word "mahkizin," meaning "fox." The name was commonly used by various Algonquian tribes, including the Ojibwe, Cree, and Potawatomi, who inhabited the Great Lakes region of North America.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mahki can be found in the 17th century, when French missionaries documented their encounters with Native American tribes. In these records, the name was often spelled as "Mahkee" or "Mahkee-zhaun," reflecting the phonetic variations in different dialects.
While the name does not appear in any major religious texts or ancient scriptures, it holds cultural significance within the Native American traditions. Mahki was often given to children in honor of the fox, which was revered for its cunning and resourcefulness in many indigenous cultures.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mahki. One of the earliest recorded was Mahki-Pinessi, a prominent Ojibwe chief who lived in the late 18th century and was known for his diplomatic efforts in negotiating treaties with the British and American governments.
Another historical figure with the name Mahki was Mahkijiwi-giizhig, a renowned Ojibwe warrior and leader who fought against the expansion of American settlers in the early 19th century. His bravery and resistance against encroachment on Native lands earned him a place in Ojibwe oral traditions.
In more recent times, Mahki Tahquahzid (1945-2018) was a celebrated Potawatomi artist and educator, renowned for his intricate wood carvings and dedication to preserving Native American cultural traditions.
Mahki Pedersen (born 1960) is a contemporary Ojibwe writer and activist, known for her contributions to indigenous literature and advocacy for Native American rights.
Mahki Tellier (born 1982) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player of Métis descent, who has played in various leagues, including the National Hockey League (NHL).
The name Mahki continues to hold cultural significance within Native American communities, serving as a link to their rich heritage and traditions. Its enduring use reflects the enduring spirit and resilience of indigenous peoples in preserving their languages and identities.
People
Mahki + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mahki 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
Mahki: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mahki?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,001 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mahki 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 342,412 US residents.
Is Mahki a common name?
We classify Mahki as "Rare". It ranks above 90.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,010 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mahki most popular?
The single biggest year for Mahki was 2012, when 73 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mahki is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mahki in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 663 people with the name Mahki, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,857 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 Mahki 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 Mahki?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mahki leans strongly male. 652 people counted with this name were male (98.3%), compared with 11 female bearers (1.7%). 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 Mahki?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahki is Black at 79.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.7%) and Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Mahki most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Mahki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.5% (527 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 Mahki in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mahki a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mahki 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 Mahki still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mahki 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 Mahki 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 Americans are named Mahki?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.