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Very Rare

Meya

A feminine name of Hindi origin meaning "cloud".

Name Census estimates that about 814 living Americans carry the first name Meya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meya today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meya births was 2006 (62 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Meya. 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

814

~ 1 in 421,074 Americans

Peak year

2006

62 babies that year

Average age

18

years old

2024 SSA rank

#11,757

Tracked since 1979

Popularity

Meya: popularity over time

The SSA tracks Meya from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 409 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.

Babies born per year

016314762198019851990199520002005201020152020

Decades

Meya 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 Meya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
1970s055
1980s01212
1990s05151
2000s0409409
2010s0301301
2020s04747

Geography

Where Meyas live

The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Meya, while Florida, Arizona, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.

Origin

Meaning and history of Meya

The name Meya has its origins in ancient Sanskrit, the classical language of India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "maya," which means "illusion" or "magic." This name likely first appeared in Hindu religious texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads, which were composed between the 2nd millennium BCE and the 3rd century BCE.

Meya was a relatively uncommon name in ancient India, but it gained popularity during the medieval period. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the 7th century CE, referring to a Buddhist monk and scholar named Meya Shrivatsa, who authored several treatises on Buddhist philosophy.

In the 12th century, Meya Tantra was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet from the Pala Empire in eastern India. Her works, which included poetry and commentaries on Hindu scriptures, were widely studied and celebrated during her lifetime.

During the Mughal era in the 16th century, Meya Bai was a prominent female poet and mystic who composed devotional poetry in the Braj Bhasha language. Her poetry, which celebrated love and devotion to the Hindu deity Krishna, is still widely read and appreciated today.

In the 19th century, Meya Nandan Mishra was a celebrated Indian scholar and linguist who made significant contributions to the study of Sanskrit grammar and literature. He authored several influential works, including a comprehensive dictionary of the Sanskrit language.

Meya has also been used as a name in other cultures and regions, albeit less commonly. For example, in the 20th century, Meya Sangingkun was a prominent Indonesian artist and painter known for her vibrant depictions of Balinese culture and landscapes.

While the name Meya is not as common today as it was in ancient and medieval India, it remains a beautiful and meaningful name with a rich cultural heritage. Its association with concepts like illusion, magic, and the mystical aspects of Hindu philosophy make it a unique and intriguing choice for a name.

People

Meya + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Meya 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

Meya: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Meya?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 814 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meya 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 421,074 US residents.

Is Meya a common name?

We classify Meya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 825 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Meya most popular?

The single biggest year for Meya was 2006, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meya is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.

Is Meya a female name?

Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meya 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.

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.

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