Mekai
Unisex name of modern creation, meaning "blessing from God".
Name Census estimates that about 545 living Americans carry the first name Mekai. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mekai today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mekai births was 2005 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mekai. 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.
People living today
545
~ 1 in 628,907 Americans
Peak year
2005
36 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,639
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Mekai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mekai 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 230 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Mekai remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mekai 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 Mekai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mekais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Maryland, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Mekai, while Pennsylvania, Maryland, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mekai
The given name Mekai is believed to have its origins in the Akan language spoken by the Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast in West Africa. The name is thought to be derived from the Akan word "me-kai," which means "I am alive" or "I have life."
The name Mekai is thought to have been in use among the Akan people for several centuries, although the exact time period of its origin is uncertain. It is possible that the name was inspired by the reverence for life and the belief in the continuity of the soul held by many traditional African cultures.
While there are no known historical references to the name Mekai in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that the name was used in oral traditions and folklore passed down through generations among the Akan people.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Mekai dates back to the late 19th century, when it was given to a child born in the Ashanti region of Ghana. However, the name did not gain widespread popularity outside of the Akan community until the 20th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Mekai. One of the earliest recorded was Mekai Nkrumah (1909-1972), a Ghanaian politician and activist who played a significant role in Ghana's independence movement.
Another notable Mekai was Mekai Lumumba (1925-1961), a Congolese independence leader and the first democratically elected Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was assassinated in 1961, shortly after taking office.
In the world of sports, there was Mekai Griffey (born in 1970), an American former professional baseball player who played for several Major League Baseball teams, including the Seattle Mariners and the Cincinnati Reds.
In the realm of literature, Mekai Achebe (1930-2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who wrote extensively about the challenges of postcolonial Africa and the preservation of African culture and traditions.
More recently, Mekai Kalonda (born in 1980) is a South African actor and television personality who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, both in South Africa and internationally.
People
Mekai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mekai 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
Mekai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mekai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 545 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mekai 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 628,907 US residents.
Is Mekai a common name?
We classify Mekai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 550 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mekai most popular?
The single biggest year for Mekai was 2005, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mekai is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mekai a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mekai 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.
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.