Mayala
A feminine name of Aboriginal Australian origin meaning "river child".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Mayala. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mayala today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mayala births was 2016 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mayala. 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 Mayala. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2016
5 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2016 SSA rank
#17,934
Tracked since 2016
Popularity
Mayala: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Mayala 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 Mayala during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0 | 5 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Mayala
The name Mayala originates from the Sanskrit language, which was the classical literary language of ancient India and the liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word "maya," which means illusion, magic, or enchantment, and "lā," which is a feminine suffix. Therefore, the name Mayala could be interpreted as "the enchanting one" or "the illusory one."
In Hindu mythology, Maya is the personification of the illusory nature of the physical world, and is often depicted as a beautiful and seductive woman who can create illusions and enchantments. The concept of Maya is central to Hindu philosophy, which emphasizes the idea that the material world is ultimately an illusion, and that true enlightenment comes from transcending this illusion and recognizing the underlying unity of all existence.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mayala can be traced back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. However, there are no specific historical figures or references directly associated with the name Mayala itself.
Over the centuries, the name Mayala has been borne by several notable individuals across various cultures and regions influenced by Sanskrit and Hindu traditions. One such individual was Mayala Devi, a 16th-century Hindu princess and philanthropist from the Rajput kingdom of Mewar in present-day Rajasthan, India. She was known for her generosity and support of education and the arts.
Another notable bearer of the name Mayala was Mayala Gajapati Raju, a 17th-century Hindu ruler of the Kalinga Kingdom in present-day Odisha, India. He was renowned for his patronage of art, literature, and architecture, and his reign is considered a golden age in the cultural history of the region.
In the 19th century, Mayala Bai was a prominent Indian singer and courtesan from the city of Lucknow, who was celebrated for her mastery of the Hindustani classical music tradition.
The name Mayala has also been used in literary works, such as in the 19th-century Bengali novel "Mayala" by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, which explores themes of love, sacrifice, and spiritual enlightenment.
Finally, Mayala Choudhury was a 20th-century Indian painter and artist from Assam, who was known for her vibrant and imaginative depictions of rural life and landscapes.
People
Mayala + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mayala 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
Mayala: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mayala?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mayala 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 Mayala a common name?
We classify Mayala 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 Mayala most popular?
The single biggest year for Mayala was 2016, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mayala is about 10 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 Mayala in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mayala a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mayala 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 Mayala still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mayala 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 Mayala 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 many Americans are named Mayala?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Mayala at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.