Moani
Hawaiian name meaning "ocean, wide expanse of water, or liquid"
Name Census estimates that about 100 living Americans carry the first name Moani. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Moani today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Moani births was 2005 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Moani. 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
100
~ 1 in 3,427,543 Americans
Peak year
2005
10 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,783
Tracked since 1976
Census
Moani in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 168 people with the first name Moani, which placed it at #42,627 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
#42,627
National first-name rank
People counted
168
168 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
40.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moani
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moani is Asian/Pacific Islander at 40.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.8%) and Two or More Races (19.6%). 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 Moani 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 Moani at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander40.5% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino26.8% · 45
- Two or more races19.6% · 33
- Black or African American7.7% · 13
- White4.8% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Moani: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Moani from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 38 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Moani remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Moani 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 Moani during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Moanis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Moani
The name Moani is believed to have originated in the Polynesian islands of the South Pacific. It is derived from the Maori language, which is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the indigenous Maori people of mainland New Zealand. The name is thought to have stemmed from the Maori word "moana," meaning "ocean" or "sea."
In Polynesian cultures, the ocean played a central role in daily life, serving as a source of sustenance, a means of transportation, and a vital part of their spiritual beliefs. The name Moani may have been given to children as a way to honor the significance of the ocean and its connection to the Polynesian way of life.
While the exact origins of the name are uncertain, it is believed to have been in use among Polynesian communities for centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name dates back to the late 18th century, when a Tahitian woman named Moani was mentioned in the journals of British explorer Captain James Cook during his voyages to the Pacific.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Moani. In the late 19th century, Moani Kelio Naili (1858-1934) was a Hawaiian princess and member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was known for her advocacy for Hawaiian culture and traditions.
Another prominent figure was Moani Ngarimu (1919-1999), a New Zealand military officer who served in World War II and later became a respected Maori leader and advocate for indigenous rights. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military honor in the British Commonwealth, for his bravery during the Battle of Tebaga Gap in 1943.
In the realm of literature, Moani Kake (1928-2009) was a celebrated Maori writer and poet from New Zealand. Her works explored themes of identity, cultural heritage, and the experiences of indigenous peoples. She was recognized with numerous awards and honors for her contributions to Maori literature.
Moani Nalawa (1930-2021) was a Fijian politician and one of the first women elected to the Parliament of Fiji. She played a significant role in advocating for women's rights and gender equality in her country.
Moani Nui (1939-2010) was a renowned Hawaiian musician and composer known for reviving and preserving traditional Hawaiian music. He was instrumental in popularizing the Hawaiian slack-key guitar style and received numerous accolades for his contributions to the preservation of Hawaiian cultural heritage.
People
Moani + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Moani 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
Moani: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Moani?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 100 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Moani 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 3,427,543 US residents.
Is Moani a common name?
We classify Moani as "Very Rare". It ranks above 64.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 101 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Moani most popular?
The single biggest year for Moani was 2005, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Moani is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Moani in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 168 people with the name Moani, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,627 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 Moani 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 Moani?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Moani leans strongly female. 160 people counted with this name were female (94.1%), compared with 10 male bearers (5.9%). 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 Moani?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moani is Asian/Pacific Islander at 40.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.8%) and Two or More Races (19.6%). 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 Moani most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Moani in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.5% (68 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 Moani in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Moani a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Moani 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 Moani still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Moani 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 Moani 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 common is the name Moani?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.