Minji
Brilliant truth, beautiful and bright lady in Korean.
Name Census estimates that about 50 living Americans carry the first name Minji. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Minji today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Minji births was 1999 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Minji. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Minji. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
50
~ 1 in 6,855,087 Americans
Peak year
1999
8 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,656
Tracked since 1992
Census
Minji in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 815 people with the first name Minji, which placed it at #14,460 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
#14,460
National first-name rank
People counted
815
815 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
91.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Minji
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Minji is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Minji 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 Minji at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander91.5% · 746
- White4.2% · 34
- Two or more races1.6% · 13
- Black or African American1.5% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 10
Popularity
Minji: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Minji 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 22 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
Minji 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 Minji during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Minji
The name Minji has its origins in the Korean language and culture. It is a popular feminine name that has been in use for centuries. The name is derived from the Korean words "min," meaning "beautiful," and "ji," meaning "wisdom" or "intelligence." Thus, the name Minji can be interpreted as "beautiful wisdom" or "beautiful intelligence."
Historically, the name Minji has been associated with Korean royalty and nobility. In the annals of Korean history, there are records of several princesses and noblewomen bearing this name. One notable example is Princess Minji, a member of the Goryeo royal family who lived during the 12th century. She was known for her intelligence and dedication to learning.
The name Minji also has literary and artistic connections. In the 16th century, there was a renowned Korean poet and scholar named Minji Hong, who contributed significantly to the development of Korean literature and philosophy. Her works explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition, and she is regarded as one of the most influential female writers of her time.
Throughout Korean history, the name Minji has been borne by various notable individuals. In the 18th century, there was a famous Korean painter named Minji Kim, whose intricate landscape paintings were highly admired and influential in Korean art. Another notable figure was Minji Lee, a prominent educator and advocate for women's rights in the early 20th century. She played a crucial role in establishing educational opportunities for women in Korea.
In more recent times, the name Minji has been carried by several accomplished individuals. Minji Kim (1949-2016) was a renowned South Korean novelist and playwright, whose works explored themes of family, identity, and societal change. Minji Park (born 1992) is a popular South Korean singer and member of the K-pop girl group Twice. Minji Choi (born 1995) is a South Korean actress known for her roles in television dramas and films.
Throughout its history, the name Minji has been associated with beauty, intelligence, and cultural significance in Korea. It has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including royalty, artists, educators, and contemporary personalities, leaving a lasting impact on Korean culture and society.
People
Minji + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Minji 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
Minji: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Minji?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 50 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Minji 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 6,855,087 US residents.
Is Minji a common name?
We classify Minji as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 51 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Minji most popular?
The single biggest year for Minji was 1999, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Minji 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 Minji in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 815 people with the name Minji, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,460 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 Minji 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 Minji?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Minji leans strongly female. 798 people counted with this name were female (98.2%), compared with 15 male bearers (1.8%). 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 Minji?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Minji is Asian/Pacific Islander at 91.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Minji most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Minji in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (746 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 Minji in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Minji a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Minji 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 Minji still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Minji 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 Minji 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 called Minji?
You can see how many people have the name Minji on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.