Makiel
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "one who is like God".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Makiel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Makiel today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makiel births was 2003 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makiel. 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 Makiel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2003
5 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2003 SSA rank
#12,054
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Makiel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Makiel 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 Makiel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Makiel
The given name Makiel is a unique and intriguing moniker with a rich history and multifaceted origins. It is believed to have its roots in the ancient Semitic languages, tracing back to the region of the Fertile Crescent, which encompasses parts of modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. The name is thought to be derived from the Hebrew word "mik'el," meaning "who is like God," with a similar derivation found in the Arabic "mikail."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Makiel can be found in the Qur'an, the central religious text of Islam, where it is used as a variant spelling of the name Michael, referring to the archangel revered in Abrahamic faiths. In the Qur'an, Makiel is mentioned as one of the four principal angels tasked with guarding the throne of God.
Throughout history, the name Makiel has been borne by several notable figures, though its usage has been relatively uncommon. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Makiel ibn Abi al-Salt, a 10th-century Arab poet and scholar from Basra, modern-day Iraq, who was renowned for his contributions to Arabic literature.
In the 12th century, Makiel al-Khurasani was a prominent Persian astronomer and mathematician who made significant advancements in the field of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits. His treatise, "Al-Zij al-Makieli," was widely studied and influential in the Islamic world.
Moving forward to the 16th century, Makiel Garbacik was a Polish nobleman and military commander who played a crucial role in the defense of Kraków during the Polish-Swedish War of 1655-1660. His bravery and strategic leadership earned him a place in Polish military history.
In the 19th century, Makiel Domanovszky was a Hungarian linguist and academic who made significant contributions to the study of Finno-Ugric languages. His works, including "A Magyar Nyelv Rokonsági Rendszere" (The Kinship System of the Hungarian Language), are considered seminal texts in the field of comparative linguistics.
Lastly, in the early 20th century, Makiel Szymański was a Polish painter and sculptor whose works were celebrated for their exploration of the human form and their unique blend of realism and symbolism. His sculptures can be found in several museums and public spaces throughout Poland.
People
Makiel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makiel 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
Makiel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makiel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makiel 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Makiel a common name?
We classify Makiel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makiel most popular?
The single biggest year for Makiel was 2003, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makiel is about 23 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 Makiel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Makiel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Makiel in the SSA data are male. 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 Makiel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Makiel 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 Makiel 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 Makiel?
Want to know how many people have the name Makiel? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.