Meeya
A feminine name of obscure origin possibly meaning "beautiful spring" or "precious water".
Name Census estimates that about 166 living Americans carry the first name Meeya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meeya today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meeya births was 2006 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meeya. 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 Meeya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
166
~ 1 in 2,064,785 Americans
Peak year
2006
18 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2018 SSA rank
#15,024
Tracked since 2003
Census
Meeya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 168 people with the first name Meeya, which placed it at #42,627 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
#42,627
National first-name rank
People counted
168
168 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
30.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meeya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meeya is White at 30.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.8%) and Two or More Races (16.7%). 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 Meeya 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 Meeya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White30.4% · 51
- Hispanic or Latino23.8% · 40
- Two or more races16.7% · 28
- Black or African American14.3% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.3% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.6% · 6
Popularity
Meeya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meeya from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 85 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meeya 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 Meeya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Meeyas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Meeya
The given name Meeya has its roots in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that originated on the Indian subcontinent. Derived from the word "meya," which means "beloved" or "darling," the name is believed to have emerged during the Vedic period, around the 2nd millennium BCE. It was widely used across various regions of ancient India, particularly in the northern and central parts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meeya can be found in the Mahabharata, a revered Sanskrit epic that dates back to the 8th century BCE. In this text, Meeya is mentioned as a minor character, a princess from the kingdom of Kashi (present-day Varanasi).
During the Gupta Empire, which ruled over a significant portion of the Indian subcontinent from the 4th to the 6th century CE, the name Meeya gained popularity among the nobility and aristocracy. Several historical records from this period mention noble women bearing this name.
In the realm of Hindu mythology, Meeya is also associated with one of the Nine Navadurgās, or manifestations of the Divine Mother Goddess Durga. This connection suggests that the name was considered auspicious and was bestowed upon female children with the hope of invoking divine blessings and protection.
Among notable historical figures with the name Meeya, one can mention Meeya Bai, a prominent 16th-century poetess and mystic from the Rajput kingdom of Mewar (present-day Rajasthan). Her compositions, known as "Meeya Bai Rahga," are celebrated for their spiritual depth and linguistic beauty.
Another notable figure was Meeya Devi, a 17th-century queen of the Rajput kingdom of Marwar (present-day Rajasthan). She is renowned for her patronage of the arts, literature, and architecture, and for commissioning the construction of several magnificent temples and palaces during her reign.
In the realm of music, Meeya Ramnath, a 19th-century Hindustani classical vocalist from Varanasi, is remembered for her contributions to the Khayal style of singing. Her renditions of Thumri and Dadra compositions were widely acclaimed.
Meeya Bala, a 20th-century Indian freedom fighter and social reformer from Bengal, was a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement. She dedicated her life to uplifting women's education and empowerment, establishing several schools and vocational training centers.
Lastly, Meeya Gupte, a contemporary Indian actress and dancer, has gained recognition for her performances in numerous Bollywood films and TV shows, as well as her contributions to the preservation and promotion of classical Indian dance forms.
People
Meeya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meeya 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
Meeya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meeya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 166 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meeya 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 2,064,785 US residents.
Is Meeya a common name?
We classify Meeya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 168 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meeya most popular?
The single biggest year for Meeya was 2006, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meeya is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meeya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 168 people with the name Meeya, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,627 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 Meeya 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 Meeya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meeya appears almost entirely female. Of the 161 people counted with this name, 99.4% 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 Meeya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meeya is White at 30.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.8%) and Two or More Races (16.7%). 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 Meeya most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Meeya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 30.4% (51 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 Meeya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meeya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meeya 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 Meeya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meeya 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 Meeya 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 Meeya?
You can see how many Americans are named Meeya on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.