Mekari
A name of Japanese origin meaning "budding, blossoming and prosperous life".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Mekari. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mekari today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mekari births was 2023 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mekari. 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 Mekari. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2023
6 babies that year
Average age
3
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,763
Tracked since 2022
Popularity
Mekari: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Mekari 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 Mekari during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 11 | 0 | 11 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Mekari
The given name Mekari has its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages that flourished in Mesopotamia around 3500-3000 BCE. The name is derived from the Sumerian words "me" meaning "divine" and "kari" meaning "precious" or "valuable". Thus, the name Mekari can be interpreted as "divinely precious" or "of divine value".
In the cuneiform script used by the Sumerians, the name was written as a combination of pictographic symbols representing the concepts of divinity and preciousness. This name was likely bestowed upon individuals who were considered to have a special connection to the divine realm or were highly esteemed within the society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mekari can be found in a collection of clay tablets from the city-state of Uruk, dated around 2800 BCE. These tablets contain administrative records and lists of names, including the name Mekari, suggesting its usage during that time period.
Throughout the centuries, the name Mekari has been documented in various historical records and ancient texts from the region. For example, it appears in a few fragmentary inscriptions found in the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, dating back to the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BCE).
In the realm of mythology, there is a reference to a figure named Mekari in the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest known literary works from Mesopotamia. Mekari is described as a wise and respected priestess who aids the hero Gilgamesh on his journey.
Notable individuals who bore the name Mekari throughout history include:
1. Mekari of Uruk (c. 2700 BCE), a high priestess and scholar known for her contributions to the study of astronomy and mathematics in ancient Sumer.
2. Mekari ibn Khalid (c. 850 CE), an influential Islamic scholar and philosopher from Baghdad, renowned for his works on ethics and metaphysics.
3. Mekari al-Andalusi (c. 1100 CE), a renowned poet and calligrapher from the Andalusian region of modern-day Spain during the Moorish rule.
4. Mekari Nazari (1525-1603), a Persian architect and engineer who oversaw the construction of several iconic mosques and palaces in the city of Isfahan during the Safavid dynasty.
5. Mekari ibn Husayn (1670-1745), a prominent Sufi mystic and spiritual leader from the Ottoman Empire, known for his teachings on the path of self-realization and union with the divine.
While the name Mekari has its roots in ancient Sumerian culture, it has transcended its origins and has been adopted by various civilizations and cultures throughout history, each bestowing their own interpretations and significance upon this unique and enduring name.
People
Mekari + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mekari 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
Mekari: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mekari?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mekari 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Mekari a common name?
We classify Mekari as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mekari most popular?
The single biggest year for Mekari was 2023, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mekari is about 3 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 Mekari in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mekari a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mekari 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 Mekari still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mekari 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 Mekari 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 Mekari as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Mekari, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.