Myana
Of Greek origin, a feminine name meaning "moon".
Name Census estimates that about 540 living Americans carry the first name Myana. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Myana today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Myana births was 2005 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Myana. 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
540
~ 1 in 634,730 Americans
Peak year
2005
36 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,676
Tracked since 1991
Census
Myana in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 433 people with the first name Myana, which placed it at #22,843 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
#22,843
National first-name rank
People counted
433
433 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
64.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Myana
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Myana is Black at 64.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.9%) and Two or More Races (10.2%). 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 Myana 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 Myana at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American64.4% · 279
- Hispanic or Latino10.9% · 47
- Two or more races10.2% · 44
- White9.7% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 10
Popularity
Myana: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Myana 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 248 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
Myana 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 Myana during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Myanas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Myana
The name Myana has its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language of India. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to around the 5th century BCE, when it was derived from the Sanskrit word "myna," meaning "a kind of starling or mynah bird." This bird, known for its distinctive call and glossy black feathers, was revered in Hindu mythology as a symbol of beauty, grace, and eloquence.
In ancient Hindu texts, such as the Puranas and the Vedas, the name Myana is sometimes mentioned in connection with celestial nymphs or apsaras, who were renowned for their enchanting beauty and melodious voices. This association further solidified the name's connotations of elegance and melodiousness.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Myana was a famed Sanskrit poet and scholar who lived in the 7th century CE. Her collection of poems, known as the "Myana-kavya," was widely celebrated for its lyrical beauty and profound insights into the human condition.
During the medieval period, the name Myana gained popularity among the ruling dynasties of India. One notable figure was Myana Devi, a 12th-century queen of the Chauhan dynasty, who was renowned for her patronage of the arts and her unwavering courage in battle.
In the realm of music, Myana Bishnupad was a celebrated 16th-century Indian classical vocalist and composer. She is credited with popularizing the Dhrupad style of singing and contributing significantly to the rich tapestry of Indian classical music.
Another prominent figure was Myana Gomatam, a 17th-century Sanskrit grammarian and linguist, whose works on Sanskrit grammar and philology were highly influential in preserving and disseminating the ancient language.
In the 19th century, Myana Bai was a renowned Indian courtesan and poet who gained fame for her exquisite poetry and her contributions to the Urdu literary tradition.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Myana, each leaving an indelible mark on their respective fields and furthering the name's association with grace, elegance, and artistic expression.
People
Myana + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Myana 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
Myana: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Myana?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 540 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Myana 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 634,730 US residents.
Is Myana a common name?
We classify Myana as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 547 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Myana most popular?
The single biggest year for Myana was 2005, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Myana is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Myana in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 433 people with the name Myana, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,843 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 Myana 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 Myana?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Myana appears almost entirely female. Of the 435 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 Myana?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Myana is Black at 64.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.9%) and Two or More Races (10.2%). 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 Myana most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Myana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.4% (279 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 Myana in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Myana a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Myana 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 Myana still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Myana 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 Myana 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 Myana?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.