Manaia
A feminine name of Maori origin meaning "chief's attendant".
Name Census estimates that about 313 living Americans carry the first name Manaia. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Manaia today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Manaia births was 2023 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Manaia. 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
313
~ 1 in 1,095,062 Americans
Peak year
2023
23 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,735
Tracked since 2000
Census
Manaia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 231 people with the first name Manaia, which placed it at #35,041 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
#35,041
National first-name rank
People counted
231
231 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Two or more races
35.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Manaia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Manaia is Two or More Races at 35.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.2%) and Hispanic (18.6%). 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 Manaia 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 Manaia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Two or more races35.1% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander34.2% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino18.6% · 43
- White5.6% · 13
- Black or African American5.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Manaia
Manaia leans heavily female at 86.7% of total registrations, but 42 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Manaia as a male name
- Ranked #10,377 in 2023
- 7 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2019 (7 births)
Manaia as a female name
- Ranked #8,735 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (19 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Manaia on both sides of the split. Of the 237 people counted with this name, 66 were male (27.8%) and 171 were female (72.2%).
Popularity
Manaia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Manaia from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 147 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Manaia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Manaia 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 Manaia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Manaias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Manaia
The name Manaia has its origins in Polynesian culture, specifically from the Maori people of New Zealand. It is believed to have emerged as a personal name during the early stages of Maori settlement in New Zealand, which is estimated to have occurred around the 13th century.
Manaia is derived from the Maori word "manaia," which refers to a mythological creature that is depicted in Maori art and carvings. This creature is often portrayed as a combination of various elements from different animals, such as the head of a bird, the body of a human, and the tail of a fish. It is considered a powerful and sacred symbol in Maori culture, representing strength, fertility, and protection.
The name Manaia has been found in various historical Maori records and narratives, often associated with prominent figures or events. For example, one of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the legend of Manaia-te-whiowhio, a famous navigator and explorer who is said to have discovered and named several islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Manaia. One of the earliest recorded examples is Manaia Tawhiorangi, a Maori chief who lived in the late 16th century and was known for his leadership and strategic skills during times of conflict.
In the 19th century, Manaia Ngapua was a respected Maori leader and orator who played a significant role in negotiations with the British government during the early stages of colonization in New Zealand.
Another prominent figure was Manaia Kalou, a Fijian chief and warrior who lived in the late 18th century and was renowned for his bravery and military prowess.
In more recent times, Manaia King was a Maori artist and carver who gained recognition for his intricate and culturally significant works, reviving traditional Maori art forms in the 20th century.
Manaia Cherrington, a contemporary Maori artist and academic, has also made significant contributions to preserving and promoting Maori cultural practices and knowledge through her work and teachings.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Manaia throughout history, each leaving their mark on their respective cultures and societies.
People
Manaia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Manaia 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
Manaia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Manaia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 313 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Manaia 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 1,095,062 US residents.
Is Manaia a common name?
We classify Manaia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 316 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Manaia most popular?
The single biggest year for Manaia was 2023, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Manaia is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Manaia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 231 people with the name Manaia, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,041 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 Manaia 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 Manaia?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Manaia on both sides of the split. Of the 237 people counted with this name, 66 were male (27.8%) and 171 were female (72.2%). 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 Manaia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Manaia is Two or More Races at 35.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (34.2%) and Hispanic (18.6%). 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 Manaia most often in the Census?
Two or More Races is the largest reported group for people named Manaia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.1% (81 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 Manaia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Manaia a female name?
Yes, 86.7% of people registered as Manaia 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 Manaia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Manaia 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 Manaia 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 Manaia?
You can see how many people share the name Manaia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.