Myna
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "precious stone".
Name Census estimates that about 153 living Americans carry the first name Myna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Myna today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Myna births was 1919 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Myna. 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
153
~ 1 in 2,240,224 Americans
Peak year
1919
10 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,794
Tracked since 1912
Census
Myna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 327 people with the first name Myna, which placed it at #27,781 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
#27,781
National first-name rank
People counted
327
327 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Myna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Myna is White at 50.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.2%) and Black (9.5%). 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 Myna 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 Myna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.5% · 165
- Asian and Pacific Islander27.2% · 89
- Black or African American9.5% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 23
- Two or more races4.0% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 6
Popularity
Myna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Myna from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 47 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Myna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Myna 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 Myna 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 Myna
The name Myna has its origins in the Sanskrit language, tracing back to ancient India. It is believed to be derived from the word "myna," which refers to a species of starling bird found in the Indian subcontinent. These birds were known for their vocal abilities and were often kept as pets, giving rise to the name's connection with eloquence and communication.
In Hindu mythology, there are references to the myna bird being associated with the god Vishnu. The bird was considered a messenger of the divine, and its melodious calls were thought to bring good fortune and prosperity. This association may have contributed to the name's popularity among ancient Indian communities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Myna can be found in the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata. In this epic, there is a character named Myna who is described as a wise and learned woman. This suggests that the name was in use during the time of the Mahabharata's composition, which is believed to be around the 8th century BCE.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Myna. One of the earliest was Myna Narasimha, a 12th-century Indian mathematician and astronomer. He made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry and is known for his work on the sine and cosine functions.
In the 17th century, Myna Bai was a prominent courtesan and poet in the Mughal Empire. Her poetry, written in the Braj Bhasha language, was widely acclaimed for its beauty and emotional depth. She was a contemporary of the renowned poet Mirabai and was known for her devotional compositions.
In the 19th century, Myna Loy was a British artist and writer who was a key figure in the Dada and Surrealist movements. Born in 1882, she was known for her innovative poetry and her contributions to modernist art. Her works often explored themes of feminism and the human condition.
Moving into the 20th century, Myna Mukherjee was an Indian social activist and educator. Born in 1908, she dedicated her life to promoting women's education and empowerment in India. She founded several schools and organizations aimed at improving the lives of underprivileged women and children.
Another notable figure was Myna Theriault, a Canadian singer and songwriter born in 1932. She was a pioneer in the French-Canadian folk music scene and was known for her powerful vocals and socially conscious lyrics. Theriault's music helped to preserve and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Quebec.
People
Myna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Myna 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
Myna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Myna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 153 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Myna 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 2,240,224 US residents.
Is Myna a common name?
We classify Myna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 301 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Myna most popular?
The single biggest year for Myna was 1919, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Myna is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Myna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 327 people with the name Myna, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,781 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 Myna 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 Myna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Myna leans strongly female. 327 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 4 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Myna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Myna is White at 50.5%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.2%) and Black (9.5%). 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 Myna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Myna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.5% (165 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 Myna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Myna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Myna 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 Myna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Myna 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 Myna 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 Myna?
You can see how many Americans are named Myna on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.