Mehak
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "pleasant fragrance" or "aroma".
Name Census estimates that about 375 living Americans carry the first name Mehak. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mehak today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mehak births was 2001 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mehak. 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 Mehak with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
375
~ 1 in 914,012 Americans
Peak year
2001
29 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,821
Tracked since 1992
Census
Mehak in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 690 people with the first name Mehak, which placed it at #16,377 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
#16,377
National first-name rank
People counted
690
690 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mehak
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mehak is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Mehak 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 Mehak at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.4% · 658
- White2.9% · 20
- Two or more races1.0% · 7
- Black or African American0.4% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.3% · 2
Popularity
Mehak: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mehak from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 185 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
Mehak 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 Mehak during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mehaks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, California, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Mehak, while New Jersey, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mehak
Mehak is a Persian name derived from the word "mehak," which means "little moon" or "crescent moon" in Persian. The name has its origins in the Middle Eastern and Central Asian regions, where Persian culture and language have had a significant influence.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mehak can be traced back to the 16th century, during the reign of the Mughal Empire in India. The Mughals were of Turco-Mongol descent and had close ties with Persian culture, which influenced many aspects of their society, including naming traditions.
In ancient Persian literature, the crescent moon was often used as a symbol of beauty, grace, and femininity. This association likely contributed to the popularity of the name Mehak among Persian and Mughal aristocracy.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Mehak was Mehak Begum, a princess of the Mughal Empire who lived in the 16th century. She was the daughter of Emperor Akbar and his wife, Salima Sultan Begum.
Another notable Mehak in history was Mehak Banu, a 17th-century Indian poet and courtesan from the city of Lucknow. She was known for her beautiful poetry and her skills in music and dance.
In the 19th century, Mehak Fatima was a prominent educator and social reformer in British India. She established several schools for girls and worked to promote women's education and empowerment.
In more recent times, Mehak Gul was a Pakistani squash player who competed in the 1990s and 2000s. She won several national and international titles and was considered one of the top squash players in Pakistan.
Mehak Iqbal is a contemporary Pakistani actress and model who has appeared in numerous television shows and films. She is known for her versatile performances and has won several awards for her acting.
Overall, the name Mehak has a rich cultural heritage and has been borne by influential figures throughout history, particularly in the Middle Eastern and South Asian regions. Its association with the crescent moon and its Persian origins have contributed to its enduring popularity.
People
Mehak + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mehak 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
Mehak: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mehak?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 375 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mehak 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 914,012 US residents.
Is Mehak a common name?
We classify Mehak as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 381 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mehak most popular?
The single biggest year for Mehak was 2001, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mehak is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mehak in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 690 people with the name Mehak, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,377 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 Mehak 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 Mehak?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mehak leans strongly female. 680 people counted with this name were female (98.1%), compared with 13 male bearers (1.9%). 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 Mehak?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mehak is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.4%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Mehak most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mehak in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.4% (658 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 Mehak in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mehak a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mehak 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 Mehak still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mehak 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 Mehak 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 Mehak?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.