Mea
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly English referring to "my".
Name Census estimates that about 1,635 living Americans carry the first name Mea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mea today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mea births was 2005 (112 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mea. 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 Mea with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 209,636 Americans
Peak year
2005
112 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,714
Tracked since 1954
Census
Mea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,607 people with the first name Mea, which placed it at #8,875 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
#8,875
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,607 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mea is White at 46.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Hispanic (17.3%). 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 Mea 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 Mea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.9% · 754
- Black or African American17.9% · 288
- Hispanic or Latino17.3% · 278
- Two or more races10.0% · 161
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.1% · 114
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 12
Popularity
Mea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mea from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 722 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mea 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 Mea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Meas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. California, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Mea, while Missouri, Louisiana, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 30 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mea
The name Mea has its origins in the Hawaiian language and culture. It is derived from the Hawaiian word "mea," which means "thing" or "object." The name Mea is believed to have been used as a given name in Hawaii as early as the 18th century.
In ancient Hawaiian culture, the name Mea was often used to refer to a person's prized possession or a significant object in their life. It was a way of honoring and recognizing the importance of material objects in Hawaiian society.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Mea can be found in the Hawaiian language newspaper "Ka Nupepa Kuokoa," which was published in the late 19th century. The newspaper featured stories and articles that mentioned individuals with the name Mea.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Mea. One such person was Mea Kamaka (1865-1945), a renowned Hawaiian musician and composer who is credited with reviving and preserving traditional Hawaiian music during the early 20th century.
Another notable figure was Mea Kanaloa (1887-1962), a Hawaiian activist and leader who played a key role in the movement for Hawaiian sovereignty and self-governance during the early 20th century.
In the realm of literature, Mea Kahalewai (1923-2004) was a celebrated Hawaiian writer and poet whose works explored themes of Hawaiian culture, identity, and the impact of colonialism.
The name Mea was also carried by Mea Kealoha (1901-1978), a renowned Hawaiian artist and painter who is renowned for her vibrant depictions of Hawaiian landscapes and scenes from daily life.
Mea Kaimana (1912-1988) was a respected Hawaiian educator and advocate for the preservation of Hawaiian language and culture. She dedicated her life to teaching and promoting the revitalization of Hawaiian traditions.
While these are just a few examples, the name Mea has been borne by numerous individuals throughout Hawaiian history, serving as a reminder of the cultural significance and meaning attached to this name.
People
Mea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mea 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
Mea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,635 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mea 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 209,636 US residents.
Is Mea a common name?
We classify Mea as "Rare". It ranks above 92.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,673 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mea most popular?
The single biggest year for Mea was 2005, when 112 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mea is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,607 people with the name Mea, or 0.53 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,875 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 Mea 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 Mea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mea appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,601 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Mea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mea is White at 46.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.9%) and Hispanic (17.3%). 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 Mea most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.9% (754 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 Mea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mea 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 Mea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mea 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 Mea 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 are called Mea?
You can see how many people have the name Mea on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.