Messiahs
A plural form of the Hebrew name meaning "anointed one, savior".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Messiahs. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Messiahs today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Messiahs births was 2017 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Messiahs. 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 Messiahs. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2017
5 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2017 SSA rank
#13,594
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Messiahs: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Messiahs 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 Messiahs 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 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Messiahs
The name Messiahs is derived from the Hebrew word "mashiach," which means "anointed one" or "chosen one." This name has its roots in the Judeo-Christian tradition, where it refers to the long-awaited savior or redeemer who would bring salvation to humanity.
The earliest references to the concept of a Messiah can be found in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. The term "Messiah" is often used in relation to prophesied figures like the Davidic king who would restore the kingdom of Israel and usher in an era of peace and prosperity.
One of the most notable historical figures associated with the name Messiahs is Jesus Christ, who is revered as the Messiah by Christians. According to the New Testament, Jesus was born around 4 BC in Bethlehem and was crucified around 30 AD in Jerusalem. His teachings and claimed resurrection form the foundation of Christianity.
Another significant figure bearing the name Messiahs is Sabbatai Zevi, a 17th-century Jewish rabbi who proclaimed himself as the long-awaited Messiah. He was born in 1626 in Smyrna (now Izmir, Turkey) and gained a large following among Jewish communities before ultimately converting to Islam in 1666.
In the 19th century, a Persian man named Mirza Husayn Ali, known as Baha'u'llah (1817-1892), declared himself to be the Messiah or the Promised One of all religions. He founded the Baha'i Faith, a religion that emphasizes the unity of all religions and the oneness of humanity.
Another notable figure associated with the name Messiahs is Haile Selassie I (1892-1975), the former Emperor of Ethiopia. He was regarded as the Messiah by members of the Rastafarian movement, which emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s and reveres Selassie as the incarnation of God.
It is important to note that while the name Messiahs has its roots in the Judeo-Christian tradition, it has also been adopted and interpreted in various ways by different religious and cultural movements throughout history, each ascribing their own significance and beliefs to the concept of a Messiah or a savior figure.
People
Messiahs + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Messiahs 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
Messiahs: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Messiahs?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Messiahs 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Messiahs a common name?
We classify Messiahs as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Messiahs most popular?
The single biggest year for Messiahs was 2017, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Messiahs is about 9 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 Messiahs in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Messiahs a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Messiahs 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 Messiahs still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Messiahs 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 Messiahs 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 share the name Messiahs?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Messiahs on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.