Maka
Of Egyptian origin, representing the concept of truth and balance.
Name Census estimates that about 59 living Americans carry the first name Maka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maka today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maka births was 2023 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maka. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Maka. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
59
~ 1 in 5,809,396 Americans
Peak year
2023
10 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,053
Tracked since 2001
Census
Maka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 444 people with the first name Maka, which placed it at #22,416 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
#22,416
National first-name rank
People counted
444
444 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
35.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maka is Black at 35.8%. The next largest groups are White (30.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (19.4%). 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 Maka 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 Maka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American35.8% · 159
- White30.9% · 137
- Asian and Pacific Islander19.4% · 86
- Two or more races7.2% · 32
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 12
Popularity
Maka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maka from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 30 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Maka remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maka 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 Maka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maka
The name Maka is believed to have originated from the Māori language, spoken by the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. The name likely emerged during the early centuries of Māori settlement on the islands, which began around the 13th century AD.
In the Māori tongue, 'maka' is a verb meaning 'to throw' or 'to cast'. It is possible that the name was initially given to children born during times of conflict or war, representing the act of throwing spears or other weapons. Alternatively, it may have been a name bestowed upon skilled hunters or warriors known for their skill in throwing hunting tools or weapons.
While the exact origins of the name Maka remain uncertain, it is clear that the name has deep roots in the rich cultural traditions of the Māori people. Some scholars have speculated that the name may be connected to ancient Māori myths or legends, though no definitive historical records have been found to substantiate this theory.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maka can be found in the genealogical records of the Ngāti Whātua iwi (tribe) of Auckland, New Zealand. These records mention a prominent chief named Maka Tuatara, who lived in the late 16th century and played a significant role in the tribe's history.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Maka. One example is Maka Pamarea (c. 1770 – c. 1830), a Tahitian navigator and explorer who accompanied Europeans on voyages across the Pacific Ocean in the early 19th century. Another is Maka Fou (1892 – 1976), a Samoan artist and woodcarver renowned for his intricate and traditional sculptural works.
In the realm of sports, Maka Vatuvei (born 1986) is a former professional rugby league player from New Zealand who represented his country in international competitions and played for several high-profile clubs. Additionally, Maka Unufe (born 1963) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who earned over 50 caps for the national team during his career.
While the name Maka may not be as widely known or popular as some other names, it carries a rich cultural heritage and has been borne by individuals of historical significance, particularly within the Māori and broader Polynesian communities.
People
Maka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maka 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
Maka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 59 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maka 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 5,809,396 US residents.
Is Maka a common name?
We classify Maka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 59 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maka most popular?
The single biggest year for Maka was 2023, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maka is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 444 people with the name Maka, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,416 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 Maka 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 Maka?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Maka on both sides of the split. Of the 437 people counted with this name, 120 were male (27.5%) and 317 were female (72.5%). 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 Maka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maka is Black at 35.8%. The next largest groups are White (30.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (19.4%). 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 Maka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Maka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.8% (159 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 Maka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maka 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 Maka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maka 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 Maka 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 the name Maka?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.