Mayah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "prosperous and successful".
Name Census estimates that about 2,877 living Americans carry the first name Mayah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mayah today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mayah births was 2015 (174 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mayah. 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 Mayah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Mayah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
2.9K
~ 1 in 119,136 Americans
Peak year
2015
174 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,253
Tracked since 1988
Census
Mayah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,313 people with the first name Mayah, which placed it at #6,813 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
#6,813
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,313 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
32.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mayah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mayah is Hispanic at 32.8%. The next largest groups are White (28.4%) and Black (26.3%). 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 Mayah 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 Mayah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino32.8% · 758
- White28.4% · 658
- Black or African American26.3% · 608
- Two or more races8.5% · 196
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 73
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 20
Popularity
Mayah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mayah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,338 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mayah 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 Mayah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mayahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Mayah, while Wisconsin, Tennessee, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 77 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mayah
The name Mayah is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, derived from the word "maya," which means "illusion" or "magic." This name's roots can be traced back to ancient Indian culture and Hindu mythology, where the concept of maya played a significant role in philosophical and religious teachings.
In Hinduism, Maya is a powerful cosmic force that creates the illusion of the material world, veiling the true nature of reality. It is often personified as a goddess, representing the creative power of the universe. This connection to the profound spiritual concept of maya gives the name Mayah a profound and mystical undertone.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mayah can be found in ancient Hindu texts, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads, where it was sometimes used as a symbolic representation of the principle of maya. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact time period when the name first emerged, as its origins are deeply rooted in the ancient spiritual traditions of the Indian subcontinent.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mayah. One of the earliest recorded figures was Mayah, a renowned Indian philosopher and scholar who lived in the 6th century CE. She is known for her influential works on the concept of maya and its relationship to the ultimate reality, which had a significant impact on Hindu and Buddhist thought.
Another prominent figure was Mayah Devi, a 16th-century Indian mystic and saint who was revered for her devotion to the divine and her teachings on the path of spiritual liberation. Her poetry and writings continue to inspire seekers of truth to this day.
In the modern era, Mayah Gandhi, a 20th-century Indian social activist and granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, carried on the legacy of her famous family by advocating for nonviolence, human rights, and social justice.
Mayah Angelou, the renowned American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist, was born in 1928. Her powerful words and life experiences have left an indelible mark on literature and the pursuit of equality and justice.
Mayah Plisetskaya, a renowned Russian ballerina who lived from 1925 to 2015, was celebrated for her exceptional artistry and her ability to bring life and depth to her performances on the stage.
These individuals, spanning various cultures, eras, and fields, have all carried the name Mayah, imbuing it with a rich tapestry of history, spirituality, and human achievement. While the name's origins may be shrouded in the mists of ancient India, its essence resonates with the profound mysteries of life and the human journey towards enlightenment.
People
Mayah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mayah 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
Mayah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mayah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,877 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mayah 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 119,136 US residents.
Is Mayah a common name?
We classify Mayah as "Rare". It ranks above 95.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,910 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mayah most popular?
The single biggest year for Mayah was 2015, when 174 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mayah is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mayah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,313 people with the name Mayah, or 0.77 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,813 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 Mayah 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 Mayah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mayah appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,310 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Mayah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mayah is Hispanic at 32.8%. The next largest groups are White (28.4%) and Black (26.3%). 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 Mayah most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Mayah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 32.8% (758 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 Mayah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mayah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mayah 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 Mayah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mayah 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 Mayah 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 Mayah as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.