Makeia
A feminine name of African origin meaning "Gift from God".
Name Census estimates that about 37 living Americans carry the first name Makeia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Makeia today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makeia births was 1985 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makeia. 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 Makeia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
37
~ 1 in 9,263,631 Americans
Peak year
1985
7 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2001 SSA rank
#14,640
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Makeia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Makeia from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Makeia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Makeia 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 Makeia 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 Makeia
The name Makeia has its origins in the ancient Greek language, deriving from the word "makaria," which means "blessed" or "fortunate." It is believed to have first emerged during the Hellenistic period, which spanned from the 4th to the 1st century BC, a time when Greek culture and language spread throughout the Mediterranean region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Makeia can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Plutarch, who lived from around 46 to 120 AD. In his writings, he mentions a woman named Makeia who was a priestess in the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
During the Byzantine era, which lasted from the 4th to the 15th century AD, the name Makeia gained popularity among Greek Orthodox Christians. It was often bestowed upon girls as a symbol of their parents' hope for a blessed and fortunate life for their child.
In the 7th century, a nun named Makeia is recorded as having lived in the Monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula. She was known for her piety and devotion to her faith, and her name was preserved in the monastery's records.
Another notable figure with the name Makeia was a 12th-century Byzantine noblewoman and poet. She was born in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and was renowned for her literary works, which focused on themes of love, nature, and spirituality.
In the 15th century, a Greek mathematician and astronomer named Makeia lived in the city of Thessaloniki. She made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and is credited with developing new methods for calculating the positions of planets and stars.
Throughout its long history, the name Makeia has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, and religious figures. While its usage may have fluctuated over time, it has remained a testament to the enduring influence of Greek culture and language on naming traditions across the Mediterranean and beyond.
People
Makeia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makeia 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
Makeia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makeia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 37 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makeia 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 9,263,631 US residents.
Is Makeia a common name?
We classify Makeia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 49.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 39 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makeia most popular?
The single biggest year for Makeia was 1985, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makeia is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Makeia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Makeia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Makeia 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 Makeia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Makeia 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 Makeia 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Makeia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.