Makalah
A female name of Native Hawaiian origin meaning "royalty" or "nobility".
Name Census estimates that about 645 living Americans carry the first name Makalah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Makalah today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makalah births was 2005 (108 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makalah. 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
645
~ 1 in 531,402 Americans
Peak year
2005
108 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2018 SSA rank
#17,202
Tracked since 1993
Census
Makalah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 576 people with the first name Makalah, which placed it at #18,647 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
#18,647
National first-name rank
People counted
576
576 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
46.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Makalah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makalah is Black at 46.9%. The next largest groups are White (37.3%) and Hispanic (8.3%). 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 Makalah 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 Makalah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.9% · 270
- White37.3% · 215
- Hispanic or Latino8.3% · 48
- Two or more races5.9% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
Popularity
Makalah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Makalah from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 410 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
Makalah 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 Makalah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Makalahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Georgia, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Makalah, while Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Makalah
The name Makalah is believed to have its origins in the Hawaiian language. It is derived from the Hawaiian word "maka," meaning "eye" or "face." The addition of the suffix "-lah" likely signifies a feminine or endearing form of the word.
In Hawaiian culture, names were often chosen to reflect physical characteristics, personality traits, or significant events surrounding a child's birth. The name Makalah may have been given to individuals with striking eyes or facial features, or it could symbolize the idea of seeing clearly or having a perceptive nature.
While the exact origins of the name Makalah are uncertain, it is possible that it has roots in the ancient Hawaiian tradition of bestowing meaningful names upon newborns. The Hawaiian language itself has a rich history, with influences from the Polynesian languages spoken by the earliest settlers of the Hawaiian Islands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Makalah can be found in the 19th century. Makalah Kauwahi was a Hawaiian woman born in 1820 who played a significant role in preserving traditional Hawaiian culture and language during a period of rapid change and westernization in the islands.
Another notable figure bearing the name Makalah was Makalah Moakay, a Hawaiian musician and composer born in 1898. She was renowned for her contributions to the preservation and promotion of Hawaiian music, particularly the traditional hula chants and mele (songs).
In the realm of literature, Makalah Kaikalani was a Hawaiian writer and educator born in 1937. She authored several works that explored Hawaiian culture, history, and language, helping to maintain and pass on these traditions to future generations.
Makalah Kapiolani, born in 1952, was a prominent Hawaiian activist and advocate for the preservation of native Hawaiian rights and lands. She played a crucial role in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and worked tirelessly to protect and promote the interests of the indigenous Hawaiian community.
Lastly, Makalah Kealiikanakaoleokalani, born in 1978, is a renowned Hawaiian practitioner of traditional healing arts and a respected kumu (teacher) of hula and Hawaiian culture. She has dedicated her life to perpetuating the knowledge and practices of her ancestors.
While the name Makalah may not be as widely known as some other Hawaiian names, it carries a rich cultural significance and has been borne by individuals who have made invaluable contributions to preserving and celebrating the unique heritage of the Hawaiian people.
People
Makalah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makalah 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
Makalah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makalah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 645 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makalah 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 531,402 US residents.
Is Makalah a common name?
We classify Makalah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 656 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makalah most popular?
The single biggest year for Makalah was 2005, when 108 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makalah is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Makalah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 576 people with the name Makalah, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,647 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 Makalah 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 Makalah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Makalah appears almost entirely female. Of the 571 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Makalah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makalah is Black at 46.9%. The next largest groups are White (37.3%) and Hispanic (8.3%). 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 Makalah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Makalah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.9% (270 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 Makalah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Makalah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Makalah 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 Makalah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Makalah 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 Makalah 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 Makalah?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Makalah at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.