Makita
A Japanese name meaning "truth" or "sincerity".
Name Census estimates that about 291 living Americans carry the first name Makita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Makita today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makita births was 1984 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makita. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Makita with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
291
~ 1 in 1,177,850 Americans
Peak year
1984
20 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2000 SSA rank
#14,293
Tracked since 1971
Census
Makita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 303 people with the first name Makita, which placed it at #29,290 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
#29,290
National first-name rank
People counted
303
303 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Makita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makita is Black at 73.6%. The next largest groups are White (17.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Makita 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 Makita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.6% · 223
- White17.5% · 53
- Two or more races4.6% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2
Popularity
Makita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Makita 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 131 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Makita 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 Makita 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 Makita
The name Makita is believed to have originated from the Japanese language, tracing its roots back to the early Edo period (1603-1868) in Japan. The name itself is derived from the combination of two Japanese words: "ma," meaning "true" or "sincere," and "kita," meaning "north."
In Japanese culture, the northern direction has long been associated with purity, clarity, and truthfulness. Thus, the name Makita could be interpreted as "true northerner" or "pure northerner," reflecting the virtues of sincerity and integrity.
While there are no known direct references to the name Makita in ancient texts or religious scriptures, the name's components have significant cultural significance. The concept of "ma" or truth and sincerity is deeply rooted in Japanese philosophy and Shinto beliefs, emphasizing the importance of honesty and authenticity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Makita can be traced back to the 17th century, when it was used as a family name among samurai clans in the northern regions of Japan. However, its use as a given name is believed to have emerged later, becoming more prevalent during the Meiji era (1868-1912).
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Makita:
1. Makita Jinsuke (1804-1888), a Japanese scholar and educator known for his contributions to the study of Japanese literature and philology.
2. Makita Masaru (1910-1998), a Japanese businessman and entrepreneur who founded the Makita Corporation, a leading manufacturer of power tools and equipment.
3. Makita Sōji (1935-2011), a Japanese artist renowned for his traditional Japanese-style paintings and woodblock prints.
4. Makita Hiromi (born 1968), a Japanese politician and member of the House of Representatives in the National Diet of Japan.
5. Makita Kiyoshi (born 1983), a Japanese professional baseball player who has played for the Yomiuri Giants and the Orix Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball.
It is important to note that while the name Makita has its origins in Japan, it has also been adopted and used in other cultures and regions around the world, particularly in areas with Japanese diaspora communities or where Japanese cultural influences have been prominent.
People
Makita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makita 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
Makita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 291 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makita 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 1,177,850 US residents.
Is Makita a common name?
We classify Makita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 309 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makita most popular?
The single biggest year for Makita was 1984, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makita is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Makita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 303 people with the name Makita, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,290 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 Makita 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 Makita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Makita leans strongly female. 296 people counted with this name were female (97.7%), compared with 7 male bearers (2.3%). 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 Makita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makita is Black at 73.6%. The next largest groups are White (17.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Makita most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Makita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.6% (223 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 Makita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Makita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Makita 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 Makita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Makita 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 Makita 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 Makita?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Makita on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.