Mashal
A unisex Urdu name meaning "proverb" or "parable".
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the first name Mashal. It is a predominantly female name (92.5% of registrations). The average person named Mashal today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mashal births was 1995 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mashal. 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 Mashal with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
130
~ 1 in 2,636,572 Americans
Peak year
1995
12 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2022 SSA rank
#13,628
Tracked since 1990
Census
Mashal in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 350 people with the first name Mashal, which placed it at #26,543 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
#26,543
National first-name rank
People counted
350
350 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
68.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mashal
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mashal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 68.0%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Two or More Races (10.3%). 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 Mashal 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 Mashal at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander68.0% · 238
- White18.0% · 63
- Two or more races10.3% · 36
- Black or African American2.9% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Mashal
Mashal leans heavily female at 92.5% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mashal as a male name
- Ranked #13,628 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2021 (5 births)
Mashal as a female name
- Ranked #15,283 in 2017
- 6 female births in 2017
- Peak: 1995 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mashal on both sides of the split. Of the 349 people counted with this name, 79 were male (22.6%) and 270 were female (77.4%).
Popularity
Mashal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mashal from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 50 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mashal 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 Mashal 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 Mashal
The name Mashal has its origins rooted in the Arabic language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic word "mishal," which means "example" or "parable." The name is often associated with wisdom, guidance, and metaphorical teachings.
One of the earliest recorded appearances of the name Mashal can be found in Islamic literature, specifically in the Quran, where it is used in reference to parables and metaphorical stories used to convey moral lessons. This association with wisdom and guidance has contributed to the name's enduring popularity within the Arabic-speaking world.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mashal. One of the earliest recorded examples is Mashal al-Jili, a renowned Sufi scholar and mystic who lived in the 13th century (1232-1309 CE). He is best known for his influential work, "Al-Insān al-Kāmil" (The Perfect Man), which explored the spiritual and metaphysical aspects of human existence.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Mashal was Mashal ibn Abi al-Walid al-Azdi, a renowned Arab poet and literary figure who lived in the 8th century (714-785 CE). His poetry and literary works were highly regarded and celebrated for their eloquence and metaphorical language.
In more recent times, Mashal Bin Fahad Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family, held various positions within the Saudi government, including serving as the Minister of Education from 1992 to 1996.
Mashal Armanazi, an Egyptian writer and novelist, gained recognition for his contributions to Arabic literature in the 20th century (1920-2002). His works often explored themes of social justice and the human condition.
Mashal Malik, a Pakistani politician and activist, has been a prominent figure in the country's political landscape. She served as the chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party from 2019 to 2022 and has been a vocal advocate for human rights and democratic reforms.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Mashal, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural and intellectual discourse.
People
Mashal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mashal 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
Mashal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mashal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 130 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mashal 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 2,636,572 US residents.
Is Mashal a common name?
We classify Mashal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 133 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mashal most popular?
The single biggest year for Mashal was 1995, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mashal is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mashal in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 350 people with the name Mashal, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,543 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 Mashal 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 Mashal?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mashal on both sides of the split. Of the 349 people counted with this name, 79 were male (22.6%) and 270 were female (77.4%). 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 Mashal?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mashal is Asian/Pacific Islander at 68.0%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Two or More Races (10.3%). 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 Mashal most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mashal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.0% (238 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 Mashal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mashal a female name?
Yes, 92.5% of people registered as Mashal 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 Mashal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mashal 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 Mashal 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 Mashal as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.