Mikaya
A feminine name of Native American origin meaning "bead worker".
Name Census estimates that about 487 living Americans carry the first name Mikaya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mikaya today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mikaya births was 2003 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mikaya. 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 Mikaya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
487
~ 1 in 703,808 Americans
Peak year
2003
34 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,761
Tracked since 1990
Census
Mikaya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 481 people with the first name Mikaya, which placed it at #21,195 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
#21,195
National first-name rank
People counted
481
481 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
47.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mikaya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mikaya is Black at 47.8%. The next largest groups are White (32.6%) and Two or More Races (10.0%). 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 Mikaya 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 Mikaya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American47.8% · 230
- White32.6% · 157
- Two or more races10.0% · 48
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 32
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 5
Popularity
Mikaya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mikaya from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 254 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
Decades
Mikaya 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 Mikaya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mikayas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mikaya
The name Mikaya is of Native American origin, specifically from the Sioux tribe. It is believed to have originated in the late 17th century or early 18th century. The name is derived from the Sioux words "mika" meaning "sky" and "ya" meaning "beautiful" or "radiant." Thus, Mikaya can be translated to mean "beautiful sky" or "radiant sky."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mikaya dates back to 1712, when it was documented as the name of a Sioux warrior and chieftain. This chieftain, Mikaya, was known for his bravery in battle and his leadership skills.
In the late 18th century, the name Mikaya gained some recognition among European settlers and traders who interacted with the Sioux tribe. One notable individual with this name was Mikaya, a Sioux woman born around 1765, who was known for her skilled beadwork and her role as a respected elder in her community.
The name Mikaya also appeared in various historical records and accounts of Native American life during the 19th century. One notable individual was Mikaya, a Sioux medicine man born in 1823, who was known for his extensive knowledge of traditional healing practices and his contributions to preserving Sioux cultural traditions.
In the 20th century, the name Mikaya gained some popularity among non-Native Americans who were drawn to its unique sound and meaning. One notable individual was Mikaya Hendrix, an American artist and painter born in 1942, who was known for her vibrant and colorful paintings depicting scenes from Native American life.
Another notable individual with the name Mikaya was Mikaya Bekele, an Ethiopian long-distance runner born in 1967. She won several international marathons and held national records in her home country.
While the name Mikaya is not as common as some other Native American names, it has a rich history and cultural significance, reflecting the beauty and spiritual connection to nature that was central to the Sioux way of life.
People
Mikaya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mikaya 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
Mikaya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mikaya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 487 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mikaya 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 703,808 US residents.
Is Mikaya a common name?
We classify Mikaya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 495 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mikaya most popular?
The single biggest year for Mikaya was 2003, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mikaya is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mikaya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 481 people with the name Mikaya, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,195 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 Mikaya 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 Mikaya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mikaya leans strongly female. 457 people counted with this name were female (95.6%), compared with 21 male bearers (4.4%). 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 Mikaya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mikaya is Black at 47.8%. The next largest groups are White (32.6%) and Two or More Races (10.0%). 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 Mikaya most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Mikaya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.8% (230 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 Mikaya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mikaya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mikaya 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 Mikaya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mikaya 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 Mikaya 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 Mikaya as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.