Migdalia
Migdalia is a feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "tower of God".
Name Census estimates that about 3,551 living Americans carry the first name Migdalia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Migdalia today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Migdalia births was 1961 (229 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Migdalia. 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
3.6K
~ 1 in 96,523 Americans
Peak year
1961
229 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1966 SSA rank
#4,331
Tracked since 1948
Census
Migdalia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,114 people with the first name Migdalia, which placed it at #2,850 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
#2,850
National first-name rank
People counted
8.1K
8,114 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
98.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Migdalia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Migdalia is Hispanic at 98.5%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Migdalia 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 Migdalia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino98.5% · 7,996
- White0.9% · 74
- Black or African American0.4% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
- Two or more races0.0% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Migdalia
Out of the 4,294 babies given the name Migdalia since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Migdalia as a male name
- Ranked #4,331 in 1966
- 5 male births in 1966
- Peak: 1966 (5 births)
Migdalia as a female name
- Ranked #12,981 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1961 (229 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Migdalia appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,110 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Migdalia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Migdalia from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,643 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Migdalia 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 Migdalia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Migdalias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the most babies named Migdalia, while California, Texas, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 342 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Migdalia
The name Migdalia is of Spanish origin, with roots tracing back to the Latin word "magdalia," which means "tower" or "watchtower." This name gained popularity during the Middle Ages in Spain and other parts of the Iberian Peninsula.
The earliest recorded use of the name Migdalia can be found in medieval Spanish records, where it was often given to girls born in families residing near watchtowers or fortified structures. The name was particularly prevalent in regions like Andalusia, where Moorish influence and architecture were prominent.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Migdalia was Migdalia de Córdoba, a renowned Andalusian poet who lived in the 12th century. Her work celebrated the beauty of her native region and its rich cultural heritage.
In the 16th century, Migdalia Fernández was a Spanish noblewoman known for her patronage of the arts and her support for the Renaissance movement in Spain. She commissioned several notable artworks and helped establish one of the first public libraries in Seville.
During the 17th century, Migdalia Velázquez, a Spanish nun and mystic, gained recognition for her spiritual writings and her dedication to charitable works. She established several convents and orphanages in Madrid and is venerated by some as a folk saint.
In the 19th century, Migdalia Gómez was a Cuban revolutionary who fought alongside José Martí for the independence of Cuba from Spanish rule. She played a crucial role in organizing and supplying the rebel forces during the Ten Years' War.
Another notable figure with the name Migdalia was Migdalia Martínez, a Mexican anthropologist and archaeologist born in 1920. She made significant contributions to the study of pre-Columbian civilizations in Mesoamerica and helped uncover and preserve various archaeological sites across Mexico.
People
Migdalia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Migdalia 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
Migdalia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Migdalia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,551 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Migdalia 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 96,523 US residents.
Is Migdalia a common name?
We classify Migdalia as "Rare". It ranks above 95.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,294 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Migdalia most popular?
The single biggest year for Migdalia was 1961, when 229 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Migdalia is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Migdalia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,114 people with the name Migdalia, or 2.69 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,850 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 Migdalia 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 Migdalia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Migdalia appears almost entirely female. Of the 8,110 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Migdalia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Migdalia is Hispanic at 98.5%. The next largest groups are White (0.9%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Migdalia most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Migdalia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.5% (7,996 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 Migdalia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Migdalia a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Migdalia 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 Migdalia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Migdalia 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 Migdalia 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 share the name Migdalia?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.