Meyah
A feminine name of uncertain origin, potentially derived from a Chaldean name meaning "gift from God."
Name Census estimates that about 517 living Americans carry the first name Meyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meyah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meyah births was 2013 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meyah. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Meyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
517
~ 1 in 662,968 Americans
Peak year
2013
40 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,831
Tracked since 1997
Census
Meyah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 396 people with the first name Meyah, which placed it at #24,370 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#24,370
National first-name rank
People counted
396
396 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
40.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meyah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meyah is Black at 40.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.5%) and White (21.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Meyah described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Meyah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American40.4% · 160
- Hispanic or Latino21.5% · 85
- White21.0% · 83
- Two or more races14.9% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Meyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meyah 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 267 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meyah 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 Meyah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Meyahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Meyah
The name Meyah is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, likely during the medieval period in the Middle East. Its roots can be traced back to the Arabic word "mayya" or "maa," which means "water." This connection suggests that the name Meyah may have been associated with concepts such as fluidity, purity, or life-giving properties.
In ancient Arabic literature and poetry, water was often used as a metaphor for various aspects of life, such as sustenance, cleansing, and renewal. It is possible that the name Meyah was initially bestowed upon individuals with a strong connection to water, whether through their occupation, location, or personal characteristics.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meyah can be found in the writings of the renowned 9th-century Arabic poet and scholar, Abu Tammam. In his anthology of poetry, he mentions a woman named Meyah who was celebrated for her beauty and grace.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Meyah, including:
1. Meyah al-Muqaddasi (1020 - 1099), an influential Arab geographer and travel writer from Jerusalem, known for his detailed descriptions of the regions he visited.
2. Meyah al-Qurtubi (1165 - 1238), a respected Andalusian scholar and jurist who made significant contributions to the study of Islamic jurisprudence.
3. Meyah al-Baghdadi (1244 - 1311), a renowned calligrapher and artist from Baghdad, whose works are considered masterpieces of Arabic calligraphy.
4. Meyah al-Jazari (1350 - 1420), a skilled engineer and inventor from the city of Jazira, known for his groundbreaking work on mechanical devices and automata.
5. Meyah al-Malikah (1505 - 1580), a powerful and influential queen who ruled over a small emirate in the Arabian Peninsula, renowned for her wisdom and just leadership.
While the name Meyah may have originated in the Arabic world, its popularity has spread across various cultures and regions over time, with variations in spelling and pronunciation. However, its connection to the concept of water and the rich historical legacy associated with it have endured throughout the centuries.
People
Meyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meyah 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
Meyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 517 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meyah 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 662,968 US residents.
Is Meyah a common name?
We classify Meyah 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, 523 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Meyah was 2013, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meyah is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meyah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 396 people with the name Meyah, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,370 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Meyah in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Meyah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meyah appears almost entirely female. Of the 400 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Meyah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meyah is Black at 40.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.5%) and White (21.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Meyah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Meyah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.4% (160 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Meyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meyah 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 Meyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meyah 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 Meyah 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.
How many people are named Meyah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.