Makalia
A feminine name possibly derived from the Hawaiian word makali, meaning "watchful or alert".
Name Census estimates that about 364 living Americans carry the first name Makalia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Makalia today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makalia births was 1998 (44 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makalia. 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
364
~ 1 in 941,633 Americans
Peak year
1998
44 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2014 SSA rank
#18,202
Tracked since 1993
Census
Makalia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 398 people with the first name Makalia, which placed it at #24,271 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
#24,271
National first-name rank
People counted
398
398 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
51.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Makalia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makalia is Black at 51.8%. The next largest groups are White (31.4%) and Hispanic (9.8%). 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 Makalia 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 Makalia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.8% · 206
- White31.4% · 125
- Hispanic or Latino9.8% · 39
- Two or more races5.8% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 5
Popularity
Makalia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Makalia 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 192 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
Makalia 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 Makalia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Makalias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Makalia
The given name Makalia has its origins rooted in the Hawaiian language and culture. It is believed to have derived from the Hawaiian word "maka," which means "eye" or "vision." The name is thought to have been in use as early as the 18th century, during the time when the Hawaiian archipelago was first encountered by European explorers.
In ancient Hawaiian mythology, the concept of "maka" held significant symbolic meaning, representing not only physical sight but also spiritual perception and wisdom. The name Makalia may have been bestowed upon individuals who were considered to possess keen insight or exceptional intuition.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Makalia can be traced back to a Hawaiian chieftain who lived in the late 18th century. While historical records are somewhat scarce, it is believed that this chieftain played a pivotal role in mediating conflicts between various island communities during that period.
Throughout the 19th century, several notable individuals bore the name Makalia. One such figure was Makalia Kealoha, a respected Hawaiian scholar and educator who contributed significantly to the preservation of traditional Hawaiian language and culture. She was born in 1835 and dedicated her life to teaching and documenting Hawaiian customs and traditions.
In the early 20th century, Makalia Kauanohi gained recognition as a skilled navigator and seafarer. Born in 1892, she was renowned for her ability to read the stars and navigate the treacherous waters of the Pacific Ocean using traditional Polynesian wayfinding techniques.
Another notable figure bearing the name Makalia was Makalia Kahanamoku, a celebrated Hawaiian athlete and Olympic gold medalist in swimming. Born in 1920, she competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and made significant contributions to the promotion of water sports in Hawaii.
Makalia Kekuaokalani, born in 1945, was a respected Hawaiian activist and advocate for indigenous rights. She played a crucial role in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, campaigning for the recognition and preservation of Native Hawaiian culture, language, and land rights.
While the name Makalia has its roots in Hawaiian culture, it has since gained popularity and recognition across various parts of the world, particularly in regions with strong Polynesian influences or connections to the Hawaiian islands.
People
Makalia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makalia 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
Makalia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makalia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 364 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makalia 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 941,633 US residents.
Is Makalia a common name?
We classify Makalia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 372 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makalia most popular?
The single biggest year for Makalia was 1998, when 44 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makalia is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Makalia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 398 people with the name Makalia, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,271 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 Makalia 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 Makalia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Makalia leans strongly female. 399 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 5 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Makalia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makalia is Black at 51.8%. The next largest groups are White (31.4%) and Hispanic (9.8%). 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 Makalia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Makalia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.8% (206 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 Makalia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Makalia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Makalia 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 Makalia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Makalia 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 Makalia 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 Makalia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.