Mawuli
A masculine name of African origin meaning "Child of the evening".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Mawuli. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mawuli today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mawuli births was 2020 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mawuli. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Mawuli. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2020
5 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2020 SSA rank
#13,368
Tracked since 2020
Popularity
Mawuli: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Mawuli 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 Mawuli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Mawuli
Mawuli is a name that originates from the Ewe language, which is spoken by the Ewe people of West Africa, primarily in Ghana and Togo. The name dates back to the early 19th century or possibly earlier. Mawuli is derived from the Ewe words "ma" meaning "to give birth" and "wuli" meaning "character" or "nature". Thus, the name can be interpreted as "born with a particular character or nature".
In Ewe culture, names often hold significant meaning and are carefully chosen to reflect the circumstances surrounding a child's birth or the hopes and aspirations of the parents for their child's future. The name Mawuli may have been given to a child believed to possess a unique or distinctive personality or character from birth.
Historical records of the name Mawuli are sparse, as written documentation of Ewe names and their origins is limited. However, the name has been in use among the Ewe people for generations and has deep cultural significance.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Mawuli can be found in the work of German missionary and linguist Jakob Spieth, who studied the Ewe language and culture in the late 19th century. In his writings, he documented various Ewe names, including Mawuli.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mawuli. Mawuli Agbenu (1935-2008) was a Ghanaian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana from 1981 to 1982. Mawuli Koku Dziesseh (1884-1950) was a prominent Ewe chief and traditional ruler in the Volta Region of Ghana during the early 20th century. Mawuli Adjako (born 1976) is a contemporary Ghanaian musician and composer known for his contributions to the highlife and Afrobeat genres.
Other notable individuals with the name Mawuli include Mawuli Coke (born 1978), a Ghanaian footballer who played for various clubs in Europe and Africa, and Mawuli Kossi Loh (born 1967), a Togolese writer and academic known for his works exploring Ewe culture and identity.
While the name Mawuli has its roots in the Ewe culture of West Africa, it has since been adopted by people of various backgrounds and cultures, particularly in Ghana and Togo, where it continues to hold cultural significance and is used as a powerful expression of identity and heritage.
People
Mawuli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mawuli 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
Mawuli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mawuli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mawuli 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Mawuli a common name?
We classify Mawuli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mawuli most popular?
The single biggest year for Mawuli was 2020, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mawuli is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Mawuli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mawuli a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mawuli 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 Mawuli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mawuli 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 Mawuli 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Mawuli?
See how many people have the name Mawuli on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.