Massie
A feminine English surname derived from Matthew meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 36 living Americans carry the first name Massie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 71.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Massie today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Massie births was 1918 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Massie. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Massie is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Massies were born before 1961.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Massie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
36
~ 1 in 9,520,954 Americans
Peak year
1918
20 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1946 SSA rank
#3,398
Tracked since 1886
Census
Massie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 203 people with the first name Massie, which placed it at #38,074 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
#38,074
National first-name rank
People counted
203
203 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Massie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Massie is White at 52.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.0%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Massie 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 Massie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.7% · 107
- Black or African American32.0% · 65
- Two or more races4.9% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.4% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Massie
Massie is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 350 total registrations, 99 (28.3%) were male and 251 (71.7%) were female.
Massie as a male name
- Ranked #3,398 in 1946
- 6 male births in 1946
- Peak: 1914 (9 births)
Massie as a female name
- Ranked #16,668 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 1922 (13 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Massie on both sides of the split. Of the 205 people counted with this name, 81 were male (39.5%) and 124 were female (60.5%).
Popularity
Massie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Massie from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 123 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Massie 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 Massie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Massies live
Origin
Meaning and history of Massie
The name Massie is believed to have originated from the French language, derived from the Old French word "masse," which means "massive" or "bulky." This suggests that the name was likely given to someone with a large or imposing physical stature.
The earliest recorded use of the name Massie dates back to the 12th century in France. It was initially a nickname or descriptive name used to identify individuals with a substantial build. Over time, it evolved into a given name in its own right.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Massie was Massie de Courtenay, a French nobleman who lived in the late 12th century. He was a member of the influential Courtenay family and participated in the Third Crusade.
Another notable figure from history with the name Massie was Massie Burnett, a Scottish soldier and explorer who lived in the 16th century. He is known for his expeditions to the Americas and his contributions to the early exploration of the New World.
In the realm of literature, Massie Sprague was an American novelist and short story writer active in the early 20th century. He is best known for his works exploring the themes of love, relationships, and the human condition.
Massie Ritsch, an American artist and sculptor, made significant contributions to the art world in the mid-20th century. Her sculptures, often depicting human forms and emotions, are celebrated for their expressive and evocative qualities.
More recently, Massie Beech was a British environmentalist and conservationist who dedicated her life to protecting endangered species and promoting sustainable practices. She played a crucial role in raising awareness about the importance of preserving the natural world.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Massie throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human experiences and achievements.
People
Massie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Massie 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
Massie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Massie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 36 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Massie 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 9,520,954 US residents.
Is Massie a common name?
We classify Massie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 49.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 350 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Massie most popular?
The single biggest year for Massie was 1918, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Massie is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Massie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 203 people with the name Massie, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,074 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 Massie 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 Massie?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Massie on both sides of the split. Of the 205 people counted with this name, 81 were male (39.5%) and 124 were female (60.5%). 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 Massie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Massie is White at 52.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.0%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Massie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Massie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.7% (107 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 Massie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Massie a female name?
Yes, 71.7% of people registered as Massie 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 Massie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Massie 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 Massie 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 Massie as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.