Mekhai
Of Celtic origin, meaning "the greatest ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 519 living Americans carry the first name Mekhai. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mekhai today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mekhai births was 2017 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mekhai. 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
519
~ 1 in 660,413 Americans
Peak year
2017
38 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,083
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Mekhai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mekhai from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 229 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Mekhai remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mekhai 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 Mekhai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mekhais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, California, Maryland recorded the most babies named Mekhai, while Georgia, Maryland, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mekhai
The name Mekhai is derived from the Hebrew language and culture. It is a variant spelling of the name Michael, which has its roots in the Hebrew phrase "mi ka'el," meaning "who is like God." This name gained prominence during the biblical era and is found in various religious texts and scriptures.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Mekhai can be traced back to the 5th century BCE, when it appeared in ancient Hebrew texts and inscriptions. During this period, it was primarily used within the Jewish community and held significant religious and cultural significance.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mekhai. One of the earliest recorded figures was Mekhai ben Yirmeyahu, a Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 3rd century CE. His contributions to the study of the Talmud and Jewish law were highly influential during that time.
In the 9th century CE, Mekhai al-Dimashqi was a prominent Arab mathematician and astronomer from Damascus. He made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and trigonometry, and his works were widely studied across the Islamic world.
Another prominent figure was Mekhai of Ephesus, a Byzantine historian and writer who lived in the 12th century CE. He is best known for his detailed accounts of the Crusades and the fall of the Byzantine Empire.
During the Renaissance period, Mekhai Buonarroti, an Italian sculptor and architect, was born in 1475. He was a distant relative of the renowned artist Michelangelo and gained recognition for his work on several churches and monuments in Rome.
In the 19th century, Mekhai Glinka was a Russian composer and is regarded as the founder of the Russian nationalist school of music. He is celebrated for his operas and orchestral works, which drew inspiration from Russian folk traditions.
While the name Mekhai has its roots in Hebrew and biblical origins, it has transcended cultural and linguistic boundaries, appearing in various forms across different regions and time periods. The individuals mentioned here represent a small sample of the diverse and rich history associated with this name.
People
Mekhai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mekhai 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
Mekhai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mekhai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 519 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mekhai 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 660,413 US residents.
Is Mekhai a common name?
We classify Mekhai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 524 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mekhai most popular?
The single biggest year for Mekhai was 2017, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mekhai is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mekhai a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mekhai 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.