Mahsa
A Persian feminine name meaning "born at night" or "like the moon".
Name Census estimates that about 319 living Americans carry the first name Mahsa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mahsa today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mahsa births was 2022 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mahsa. 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 Mahsa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
319
~ 1 in 1,074,465 Americans
Peak year
2022
49 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,466
Tracked since 1983
Census
Mahsa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,079 people with the first name Mahsa, which placed it at #11,742 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
#11,742
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,079 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mahsa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahsa is White at 76.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.9%) and Two or More Races (11.4%). 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 Mahsa 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 Mahsa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.1% · 821
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.9% · 128
- Two or more races11.4% · 123
- Black or African American0.4% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.2% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Mahsa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mahsa from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 183 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mahsa 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 Mahsa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mahsas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Virginia, Texas recorded the most babies named Mahsa, while Washington, Texas, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mahsa
The name Mahsa has its origins in the Persian language and culture, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Old Persian word "Mahyā," which means "midwife" or "helper." The name was likely used to honor women who assisted in childbirth or provided care and support to others.
In ancient Persian mythology, Mahsa is mentioned as one of the daughters of the legendary king, Fereydun. Her name appears in various ancient Persian texts and literary works, including the epic poem "Shahnameh" (The Book of Kings) by the renowned poet Ferdowsi, written in the late 10th and early 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Mahsa can be found in the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled over the Persian territories from around 550 BCE to 330 BCE. During this period, the name was borne by several notable women, including Mahsa, the daughter of the Achaemenid king Darius I (550-486 BCE).
Throughout history, the name Mahsa has been carried by numerous influential figures. One notable example is Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman whose tragic death in 2022 sparked widespread protests against the mandatory hijab laws in Iran. Her name became a symbol of resistance and the fight for women's rights in the country.
Another prominent figure with the name Mahsa was Mahsa Vahdat, an Iranian singer and composer born in 1973. She is known for her contributions to Persian classical music and her advocacy for women's rights and artistic freedom.
In the realm of literature, Mahsa Mohebali (born 1976) is an Iranian writer and translator who has received critical acclaim for her works exploring themes of identity, gender, and social issues.
Additionally, Mahsa Amrabadi (born 1988) is an Iranian actress and filmmaker who has garnered recognition for her performances in various Iranian films and television series.
The name Mahsa has also been borne by notable figures in other fields, such as Mahsa Rezaei, an Iranian Paralympic archer who won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
While the name Mahsa has Persian origins, it has transcended cultural boundaries and has been adopted by people of various backgrounds worldwide, reflecting its enduring appeal and the cultural exchange that has shaped human societies throughout history.
People
Mahsa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mahsa 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
Mahsa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mahsa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 319 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mahsa 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 1,074,465 US residents.
Is Mahsa a common name?
We classify Mahsa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 323 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mahsa most popular?
The single biggest year for Mahsa was 2022, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mahsa is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mahsa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,079 people with the name Mahsa, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,742 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 Mahsa 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 Mahsa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mahsa appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,083 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 Mahsa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahsa is White at 76.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (11.9%) and Two or More Races (11.4%). 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 Mahsa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mahsa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.1% (821 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 Mahsa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mahsa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mahsa 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 Mahsa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mahsa 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 Mahsa 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 Mahsa?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.