Meraki
A Greek word meaning to do something with soul, creativity, and love.
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Meraki. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 58.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Meraki today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meraki births was 2019 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meraki. 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 Meraki. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2019
12 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,335
Tracked since 2019
Gender
Gender distribution for Meraki
Meraki is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 12 total registrations, 5 (41.7%) were male and 7 (58.3%) were female.
Meraki as a male name
- Ranked #13,452 in 2019
- 5 male births in 2019
- Peak: 2019 (5 births)
Meraki as a female name
- Ranked #13,335 in 2019
- 7 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2019 (7 births)
Popularity
Meraki: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Meraki 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 Meraki during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 7 | 12 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Meraki
The given name Meraki is a modern Greek word that has gained popularity in recent years. It is derived from the Turkish word "merak," which means "desire" or "passion." The word Meraki entered the Greek language during the Ottoman rule over Greece, which lasted from the 15th to the early 19th century.
Meraki does not have a long historical lineage or recorded instances in ancient texts or religious scriptures. The word's usage as a given name is a relatively recent phenomenon, likely emerging in the late 20th or early 21st century. It reflects a contemporary trend of using unique, meaningful words from various languages as names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Meraki as a given name dates back to the late 20th century. Meraki Caldwell, an American actress and model, was born in 1991. Another notable individual with this name is Meraki P. Cloud, an American artist and entrepreneur born in 1987.
Some other individuals with the given name Meraki include Meraki Lehua, a Hawaiian-born artist and activist born in 1995, and Meraki Delancey, a Canadian singer-songwriter born in 1993. There is also Meraki Shizuko, a Japanese fashion designer born in 1988.
While the name Meraki is relatively new and its historical roots are limited, it has gained popularity in recent decades due to its unique sound and meaningful connotation. The name resonates with parents seeking names that convey passion, creativity, and a zest for life. As a given name, Meraki represents a modern trend of drawing inspiration from diverse linguistic and cultural sources.
People
Meraki + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meraki 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
Meraki: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meraki?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meraki 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Meraki a common name?
We classify Meraki as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meraki most popular?
The single biggest year for Meraki was 2019, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meraki is about 7 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 Meraki in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meraki a female name?
Yes, 58.3% of people registered as Meraki 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 Meraki still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meraki 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 Meraki 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 Meraki as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Meraki, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.