Masai
A name of Kenyan origin referring to a Nilotic ethnic group in East Africa.
Name Census estimates that about 746 living Americans carry the first name Masai. It is a predominantly male name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Masai today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Masai births was 2024 (95 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Masai. 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
746
~ 1 in 459,456 Americans
Peak year
2024
95 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,823
Tracked since 1973
Census
Masai in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 414 people with the first name Masai, which placed it at #23,579 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
#23,579
National first-name rank
People counted
414
414 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
76.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Masai
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Masai is Black at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.9%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). 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 Masai 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 Masai at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American76.8% · 318
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 37
- Two or more races6.8% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 16
- White3.6% · 15
Gender
Gender distribution for Masai
Out of the 754 babies given the name Masai since 1880, 99.2% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Masai as a male name
- Ranked #1,823 in 2024
- 89 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (89 births)
Masai as a female name
- Ranked #14,591 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Masai leans strongly male. 364 people counted with this name were male (87.9%), compared with 50 female bearers (12.1%).
Popularity
Masai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Masai from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 333 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Masai 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 Masai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Masais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Masai, while Ohio, Virginia, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Masai
The name Masai is believed to have originated from the Maasai people, an indigenous ethnic group in Kenya and northern Tanzania. The Maasai are renowned for their rich cultural heritage, semi-nomadic pastoralist lifestyle, and distinctive dress. The name Masai itself is derived from the Maa language spoken by the Maasai people, and it is thought to have roots dating back several centuries.
Historically, the Maasai people have been a prominent presence in East Africa, particularly in the Great Rift Valley region. Their name has been documented in various historical accounts and records, including those written by early European explorers and missionaries who encountered them in the 19th century. These accounts often referred to them as the "Masai" or "Masai people," reflecting the pronunciation and spelling of their name at the time.
While the name Masai does not appear to have any specific mentions in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is Masai Olnguan, a Maasai leader and warrior who lived in the late 19th century and played a significant role in resisting British colonial rule in Kenya.
Another famous individual with the name Masai was Masai Njoroge, a Kenyan politician and activist who was instrumental in the struggle for independence from British colonial rule. He was born in the early 20th century and played a key role in the Mau Mau rebellion, which ultimately led to Kenya's independence in 1963.
In more recent times, the name Masai has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, athletes, and public figures. For example, Masai Ujiri, a Nigerian-born Canadian sports executive, is the current president and vice-chairman of the Toronto Raptors basketball team in the NBA.
Another notable figure is Masai Graham, an American actor and model who has appeared in several television shows and films, including roles in "Ride Along" and "Black-ish." He was born in 1985 and continues to work in the entertainment industry.
Additionally, Masai Mara, a renowned game reserve in Kenya, bears the name "Masai" in reference to the Maasai people who have inhabited the region for centuries. The name has become synonymous with wildlife conservation and tourism in East Africa.
These are just a few examples of individuals and references associated with the name Masai throughout history, reflecting its deep cultural roots and enduring presence in various contexts.
People
Masai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Masai 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
Masai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Masai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 746 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Masai 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 459,456 US residents.
Is Masai a common name?
We classify Masai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 754 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Masai most popular?
The single biggest year for Masai was 2024, when 95 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Masai is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Masai in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 414 people with the name Masai, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,579 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 Masai 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 Masai?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Masai leans strongly male. 364 people counted with this name were male (87.9%), compared with 50 female bearers (12.1%). 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 Masai?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Masai is Black at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.9%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). 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 Masai most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Masai in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.8% (318 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 Masai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Masai a male name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Masai 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 Masai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Masai 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 Masai 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 common is the name Masai?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Masai at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.