Megale
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "great" or "mighty".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Megale. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Megale today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Megale births was 1994 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Megale. 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 Megale. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1994
5 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
1994 SSA rank
#9,769
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Megale: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Megale 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 Megale during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Megale
The name Megale has its origins in Ancient Greek, where it was derived from the word "megas" meaning "great" or "large." It was a common name given to girls in the ancient Greek civilization, particularly in the region of Attica, which included the city-state of Athens.
Megale was a name associated with strength, power, and grandeur in Greek culture. It was often given to daughters of prominent families or those with noble lineages, as a reflection of the parents' aspirations for their child to achieve greatness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Megale can be found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, who mentions a woman by that name in his accounts of the Greco-Persian Wars in the 5th century BCE.
In Greek mythology, Megale was also the name of one of the Oceanids, the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, who were said to personify various bodies of water.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Megale. One of the most prominent was Megale of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the 4th century BCE and was a student of the renowned thinker Plato. She is credited with making significant contributions to the field of mathematics.
Another notable Megale was Megale of Smyrna, a Greek poet who lived in the 2nd century BCE. She was highly regarded for her elegant and lyrical poetry, and her works were widely read and admired in the ancient world.
In the Byzantine era, Megale was the name of a noblewoman and courtier who served as a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Theodora in the 6th century CE. She was known for her intelligence, wit, and influence within the imperial court.
Megale was also the name of a prominent female artist and iconographer in the 12th century CE, renowned for her exquisite and intricate religious paintings and frescoes adorning the walls of churches and monasteries throughout the Byzantine Empire.
During the Renaissance period, Megale was the name of a renowned Italian painter and sculptor who lived in the 15th century. Her works were highly regarded for their dynamic compositions, vivid colors, and masterful depictions of the human form.
People
Megale + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Megale 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
Megale: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Megale?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Megale 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 Megale a common name?
We classify Megale 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 Megale most popular?
The single biggest year for Megale was 1994, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Megale is about 31 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 Megale in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Megale a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Megale in the SSA data are male. 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 Megale still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Megale 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 Megale 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 people have the name Megale?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Megale on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.