Mystic
One whose life is dedicated to spiritual mysteries and the occult.
Name Census estimates that about 381 living Americans carry the first name Mystic. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mystic today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mystic births was 2006 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mystic. 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
381
~ 1 in 899,618 Americans
Peak year
2006
23 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,684
Tracked since 1975
Census
Mystic in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 357 people with the first name Mystic, which placed it at #26,204 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
#26,204
National first-name rank
People counted
357
357 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mystic
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mystic is White at 61.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.4%) and Two or More Races (10.6%). 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 Mystic 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 Mystic at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.1% · 218
- Hispanic or Latino13.4% · 48
- Two or more races10.6% · 38
- Black or African American10.4% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.2% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Mystic: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mystic from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 148 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
Mystic 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 Mystic during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mystics live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mystic
The name Mystic finds its origins in the Greek language and is derived from the word "mystikos," which means "relating to sacred mysteries." It has a rich history spanning various cultures and time periods.
In ancient Greek mythology, the Eleusinian Mysteries were a series of sacred rites and ceremonies that celebrated the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. These mysteries were closely guarded and accessible only to initiates. The term "mystikos" was used to refer to those who had been initiated into these sacred mysteries.
During the early Christian era, the word "mystic" took on a new meaning, referring to those who sought a direct and personal experience of the divine through contemplation and spiritual practices. The Desert Fathers and Mothers, who lived as hermits in the Egyptian deserts during the 3rd and 4th centuries, were considered mystics, as they pursued a life of prayer and asceticism.
In the Middle Ages, the name Mystic became associated with various mystic traditions within Christianity, such as the writings of Meister Eckhart (1260-1328), a German theologian and mystic known for his profound teachings on the nature of God and the soul. Another notable figure was Julian of Norwich (1342-1416), an English mystic and author of the influential work "Revelations of Divine Love."
During the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, the concept of mysticism gained popularity among philosophers and thinkers. The name Mystic was associated with individuals who sought a deeper understanding of the divine through reason and contemplation. One such figure was Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), a Swedish philosopher and mystic who claimed to have experienced visions and communicated with the spiritual realm.
In the 19th century, the name Mystic gained prominence in various spiritual and esoteric movements. Helena Blavatsky (1831-1891), the co-founder of the Theosophical Society, was a prominent figure who popularized the study of mystic traditions from around the world. Another notable individual was Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), an Indian Hindu monk who introduced the concept of Vedanta and yoga to the West.
Other historical figures who bore the name Mystic include Mystic Rose (1884-1936), an American suffragist and activist; Mystic Seymour (1909-1992), an American sports writer and journalist; and Mystic Bowie (1913-1996), an American jazz and blues singer and guitarist.
It is important to note that while the name Mystic has been associated with various spiritual and esoteric traditions throughout history, it has also been used more broadly to refer to individuals with a deep sense of wonder and a yearning for the mysterious and unknown.
People
Mystic + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mystic 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
Mystic: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mystic?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 381 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mystic 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 899,618 US residents.
Is Mystic a common name?
We classify Mystic as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 390 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mystic most popular?
The single biggest year for Mystic was 2006, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mystic is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mystic in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 357 people with the name Mystic, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,204 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 Mystic 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 Mystic?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mystic leans strongly female. 325 people counted with this name were female (92.1%), compared with 28 male bearers (7.9%). 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 Mystic?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mystic is White at 61.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.4%) and Two or More Races (10.6%). 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 Mystic most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mystic in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.1% (218 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 Mystic in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mystic a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mystic 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 Mystic still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mystic 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 Mystic 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 share the name Mystic?
Find out how many people have the name Mystic on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.