Maysa
An Arabic feminine name meaning "born at night" or "walking with grace".
Name Census estimates that about 915 living Americans carry the first name Maysa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maysa today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maysa births was 2011 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maysa. 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 Maysa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
915
~ 1 in 374,595 Americans
Peak year
2011
43 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,248
Tracked since 1979
Census
Maysa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,076 people with the first name Maysa, which placed it at #11,768 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
#11,768
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,076 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maysa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maysa is White at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Maysa 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 Maysa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.4% · 714
- Black or African American13.1% · 141
- Hispanic or Latino6.9% · 74
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.6% · 71
- Two or more races6.2% · 67
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 9
Popularity
Maysa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maysa from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 357 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Maysa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maysa 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 Maysa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maysas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Michigan, California, New York recorded the most babies named Maysa, while North Carolina, Illinois, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maysa
The name Maysa has its origins in the Arabic language and is derived from the word "mays," which means "walking with pride" or "walking gracefully." It is believed to have originated in the Middle East, particularly in regions with a strong Arabic cultural influence.
The earliest recorded use of the name Maysa can be traced back to ancient Arabic texts and literature, where it was often used to describe women with a graceful and dignified demeanor. In some Islamic traditions, the name is associated with the concept of modesty and elegance.
One of the earliest notable bearers of the name Maysa was Maysa bint Shaddad, a 7th-century Arab poet and warrior from the Banu Shayban tribe. She was known for her bravery and skill in battle, as well as her poetic talents. Her poetry often celebrated the virtues of courage and loyalty.
In the 9th century, Maysa al-Qurashiyya was a renowned Abbasid-era singer and musician from Baghdad. She was celebrated for her exceptional vocal talents and was highly regarded in the court of the Abbasid caliphs.
During the 12th century, Maysa al-Kazdari was a prominent female scholar and jurist from Damascus. She was recognized for her expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and her contributions to the field of Islamic law.
In the 14th century, Maysa al-Andalusia was a notable Andalusian poet and calligrapher from Granada. Her poetry was celebrated for its beauty and elegance, and she was also renowned for her exceptional calligraphic skills.
Maysa Matareed (1904-1998) was a famous Lebanese singer and actress who rose to prominence in the mid-20th century. She was known for her powerful voice and her ability to convey deep emotions through her performances. She was also celebrated for her acting talents and appeared in several popular Arabic films.
Throughout its history, the name Maysa has been associated with grace, elegance, and cultural sophistication in the Arabic-speaking world. It has been bestowed upon many notable figures, including poets, scholars, artists, and performers, who have left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape of the region.
People
Maysa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maysa 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
Maysa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maysa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 915 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maysa 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 374,595 US residents.
Is Maysa a common name?
We classify Maysa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 928 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maysa most popular?
The single biggest year for Maysa was 2011, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maysa is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maysa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,076 people with the name Maysa, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,768 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 Maysa 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 Maysa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maysa leans strongly female. 1,053 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 17 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Maysa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maysa is White at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Hispanic (6.9%). 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 Maysa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maysa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.4% (714 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 Maysa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maysa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maysa 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 Maysa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maysa 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 Maysa 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 share the name Maysa?
Want to know how many Americans are named Maysa? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.