Miaya
A feminine name derived from the Japanese elements "mi" (beauty) and "aya" (colorful design).
Name Census estimates that about 340 living Americans carry the first name Miaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Miaya today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Miaya births was 1998 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Miaya. 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 Miaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
340
~ 1 in 1,008,101 Americans
Peak year
1998
25 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2019 SSA rank
#14,984
Tracked since 1980
Census
Miaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 330 people with the first name Miaya, which placed it at #27,622 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
#27,622
National first-name rank
People counted
330
330 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
47.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Miaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Miaya is Black at 47.3%. The next largest groups are White (27.3%) and Hispanic (13.6%). 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 Miaya 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 Miaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.3% · 156
- White27.3% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino13.6% · 45
- Two or more races9.7% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Miaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Miaya from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 127 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Miaya remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Miaya 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 Miaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Miayas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Miaya
The name Miaya is believed to have its origins in the Yoruba language, which is spoken primarily in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The name is thought to be derived from the Yoruba word "omi," meaning "water," and "aya," meaning "beauty" or "elegance."
In Yoruba culture, water is considered a powerful and sacred element, often associated with purity, fertility, and life itself. The combination of "omi" and "aya" suggests a name that symbolizes the beauty and grace found in the natural world, specifically in the element of water.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Miaya can be found in the writings of the influential Yoruba author and playwright, Amos Tutuola, who lived from 1920 to 1997. In his works, he often drew inspiration from Yoruba folklore and mythology, and it is possible that the name Miaya appeared as a character in one of his stories.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Miaya. One such person was Miaya Gekkadan, a Japanese painter and calligrapher who lived in the early 18th century. Her works were highly regarded for their delicate brushwork and skillful depictions of nature.
Another notable Miaya was Miaya Wilkins, an American civil rights activist and educator who lived from 1923 to 2008. She played a crucial role in desegregating public schools in the United States and was a tireless advocate for equal educational opportunities.
In the world of sports, Miaya Riga was a Latvian basketball player who competed in the 1990s and early 2000s. She represented her country in several international tournaments and was known for her tenacity and skill on the court.
Miaya Kwaten was a renowned Australian singer and songwriter of Aboriginal descent, who lived from 1958 to 2003. Her music celebrated her indigenous heritage and played a significant role in raising awareness about the struggles and resilience of Aboriginal communities.
Lastly, Miaya Sakamoto was a Japanese voice actress and singer who gained popularity for her work in various anime series and video games. She was born in 1976 and is particularly known for her role as Hitomi Kanzaki in the anime series "The Vision of Escaflowne."
While the name Miaya may have originated from the Yoruba language, it has transcended cultural boundaries and gained recognition in various parts of the world, reflecting the diverse and fascinating histories that names can embody.
People
Miaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Miaya 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
Miaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Miaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 340 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Miaya 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 1,008,101 US residents.
Is Miaya a common name?
We classify Miaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 348 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Miaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Miaya was 1998, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Miaya is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Miaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 330 people with the name Miaya, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,622 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 Miaya 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 Miaya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Miaya appears almost entirely female. Of the 326 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Miaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Miaya is Black at 47.3%. The next largest groups are White (27.3%) and Hispanic (13.6%). 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 Miaya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Miaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.3% (156 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 Miaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Miaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Miaya 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 Miaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Miaya 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 Miaya 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 have the name Miaya?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Miaya, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.