Idamae
A feminine name derived from combining "Ida" and "Mae", representing beauty and greatness.
Name Census estimates that about 167 living Americans carry the first name Idamae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Idamae today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Idamae births was 1917 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Idamae. 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
167
~ 1 in 2,052,421 Americans
Peak year
1917
54 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,153
Tracked since 1901
Census
Idamae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 606 people with the first name Idamae, which placed it at #17,943 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
#17,943
National first-name rank
People counted
606
606 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Idamae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Idamae is White at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Black (18.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Idamae 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 Idamae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.8% · 447
- Black or African American18.6% · 113
- Two or more races2.5% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
Popularity
Idamae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Idamae from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 296 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Idamae 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 Idamae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Idamaes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Ohio, New York, Missouri recorded the most babies named Idamae, while Missouri, New York, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Idamae
The name Idamae is a feminine given name of English origin. It is a combination of the names Ida and Mae, both of which have distinct etymological roots. The name Ida is derived from the Germanic root "id," meaning "work" or "labor," while Mae is a modern English variation of the name Mary, which has its origins in the Hebrew name Miryam.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Idamae can be traced back to the late 19th century in the United States. It gained popularity as a fashionable name during the early 20th century, particularly in rural areas of the American Midwest and Southern states.
While the name Idamae does not have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it bears similarities to other names found in literature and historical records. The name Ida, for example, appears in the Old Norse sagas and Germanic folklore, often associated with characters of strength and resilience.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Idamae. One of the earliest recorded examples is Idamae Olsen (1894-1976), an American actress and vaudeville performer known for her roles in silent films during the 1920s. Another prominent figure was Idamae Thomas (1902-1998), a Welsh-American singer and actress who performed on Broadway and in Hollywood musicals during the 1930s and 1940s.
In the literary world, Idamae Mosgrove (1912-1994) was an American author and educator who wrote several children's books and novels, including the popular "Susie" series. Idamae Richardson (1924-2013) was a Canadian artist and sculptor, renowned for her abstract works and public installations across North America.
Lastly, Idamae Waters (1937-2022) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served as the first African-American woman elected to the Oklahoma State Senate, where she advocated for educational and social reforms during her tenure from 1987 to 2005.
People
Idamae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Idamae as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with I
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Idamae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Idamae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 167 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Idamae 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 2,052,421 US residents.
Is Idamae a common name?
We classify Idamae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 982 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Idamae most popular?
The single biggest year for Idamae was 1917, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Idamae is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Idamae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 606 people with the name Idamae, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,943 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 Idamae 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 Idamae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Idamae appears almost entirely female. Of the 596 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 Idamae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Idamae is White at 73.8%. The next largest groups are Black (18.6%) and Two or More Races (2.5%). 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 Idamae most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Idamae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.8% (447 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 Idamae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Idamae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Idamae 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 Idamae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Idamae 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 Idamae 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 named Idamae?
Want to know how many Americans are named Idamae? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.