Makya
A feminine name of Hawaiian origin meaning "flower bud".
Name Census estimates that about 1,182 living Americans carry the first name Makya. It is a predominantly female name (92.2% of registrations). The average person named Makya today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makya births was 2006 (106 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makya. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 289,978 Americans
Peak year
2006
106 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2013 SSA rank
#10,329
Tracked since 1997
Census
Makya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,006 people with the first name Makya, which placed it at #12,387 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
#12,387
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,006 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
51.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Makya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makya is Black at 51.7%. The next largest groups are White (23.9%) and Two or More Races (14.3%). 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 Makya 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 Makya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.7% · 520
- White23.9% · 240
- Two or more races14.3% · 144
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.4% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Makya
Makya leans heavily female at 92.2% of total registrations, but 93 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Makya as a male name
- Ranked #10,329 in 2013
- 7 male births in 2013
- Peak: 2004 (14 births)
Makya as a female name
- Ranked #14,546 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (94 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Makya leans strongly female. 895 people counted with this name were female (89.4%), compared with 106 male bearers (10.6%).
Popularity
Makya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Makya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 752 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
Makya 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 Makya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Makyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Ohio, Georgia, Michigan recorded the most babies named Makya, while Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Makya
The name Makya is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language, with roots dating back to the Vedic period in India, around the 2nd millennium BCE. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "makara," which refers to a mythical sea creature resembling a crocodile or a dolphin. This creature was considered auspicious and was often depicted in Hindu and Buddhist art and architecture.
In the Hindu tradition, the makara is associated with the god Ganesha, who is known as the remover of obstacles and the lord of beginnings. As a result, the name Makya may have been bestowed upon children with the hope of granting them protection, prosperity, and auspiciousness in their lives.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Makya can be traced back to ancient Sanskrit texts, such as the Mahabharata and the Puranas, where it was occasionally used as a personal name or as a descriptive term for someone associated with the makara symbol.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Makya. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Makya the Sage, a renowned Hindu philosopher and spiritual teacher who lived in the 6th century BCE. His teachings and wisdom were widely revered and continue to influence Hindu thought to this day.
Another prominent figure was Makya Muni, a Buddhist monk and scholar who lived in the 7th century CE. He was known for his extensive knowledge of the Buddhist scriptures and his contribution to the spread of Buddhism across South and Southeast Asia.
In the realm of literature, Makya Devi was a celebrated Sanskrit poet and playwright from the 11th century CE. Her works, which explored themes of love, devotion, and spirituality, were highly acclaimed during her lifetime and continue to be studied and appreciated by scholars today.
During the medieval period, Makya Singh was a renowned warrior and military strategist who served under the Rajput rulers of India. He was renowned for his bravery and tactical brilliance, and his exploits were recorded in various historical accounts and folk tales.
More recently, Makya Tollemache was a British aristocrat and philanthropist who lived in the 19th century. She was known for her charitable works and her efforts to improve the lives of underprivileged communities in Britain and around the world.
While the name Makya has roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu traditions, it has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries, with individuals from various backgrounds and regions bearing this name throughout history.
People
Makya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makya 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
Makya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,182 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makya 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 289,978 US residents.
Is Makya a common name?
We classify Makya as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,197 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makya most popular?
The single biggest year for Makya was 2006, when 106 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makya is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Makya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,006 people with the name Makya, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,387 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 Makya 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 Makya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Makya leans strongly female. 895 people counted with this name were female (89.4%), compared with 106 male bearers (10.6%). 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 Makya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makya is Black at 51.7%. The next largest groups are White (23.9%) and Two or More Races (14.3%). 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 Makya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Makya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.7% (520 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 Makya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Makya a female name?
Yes, 92.2% of people registered as Makya 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 Makya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Makya 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 Makya 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 Makya?
You can see how many Americans are named Makya on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.