Magda
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "woman from Magdala".
Name Census estimates that about 2,422 living Americans carry the first name Magda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Magda today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Magda births was 1966 (76 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Magda. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Magda with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.4K
~ 1 in 141,517 Americans
Peak year
1966
76 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,802
Tracked since 1888
Census
Magda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,390 people with the first name Magda, which placed it at #2,567 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
#2,567
National first-name rank
People counted
9.4K
9,390 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
66.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Magda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Magda is Hispanic at 66.8%. The next largest groups are White (27.7%) and Black (4.1%). 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 Magda 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 Magda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino66.8% · 6,274
- White27.7% · 2,601
- Black or African American4.1% · 381
- Two or more races0.9% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 41
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 8
Popularity
Magda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Magda from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 545 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Magda 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 Magda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Magdas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Magda, while Florida, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 257 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Magda
The name Magda has its origins in the Greek language, with roots that can be traced back to the ancient Mediterranean region. It is derived from the Greek name Magdalene, which means "woman from Magdala," a biblical town located on the Sea of Galilee. The name gained prominence in the New Testament, where it refers to Mary Magdalene, one of the most significant female figures in Christianity.
In the early days of Christianity, Magda was a popular name among followers of the faith, particularly in regions where Greek cultural influence was strong. It was embraced as a symbol of devotion and reverence for Mary Magdalene, who is often portrayed as a repentant sinner and one of the closest disciples of Jesus.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Magda can be found in the writings of the Church Fathers, such as Saint Augustine and Saint Jerome, who lived in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. These early Christian scholars frequently referenced Mary Magdalene and her significance in the life of Jesus.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Magda remained prevalent in various parts of Europe, particularly in areas with strong Christian traditions. It was often bestowed upon girls as a way of honoring the devotion and strength of Mary Magdalene.
Notable historical figures who bore the name Magda include Magda Lupescu (1895-1977), a Romanian noblewoman who became the wife of King Carol II of Romania. Another prominent individual was Magda Goebbels (1901-1945), the wife of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda during World War II.
In the world of literature, Magda is the name of a character in the novel "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera, published in 1984. This fictional Magda played a significant role in exploring the themes of love, freedom, and the human condition in the postmodern era.
Other notable individuals named Magda include Magda Szabó (1917-2007), a renowned Hungarian writer and recipient of the prestigious Kossuth Prize, and Magda Navarrete (1920-2015), a Mexican actress and singer who was a prominent figure in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.
While the name Magda has its roots in ancient Greek and early Christian traditions, it has transcended cultural and religious boundaries, becoming a name embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds and regions around the world.
People
Magda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Magda 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
Magda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Magda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,422 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Magda 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 141,517 US residents.
Is Magda a common name?
We classify Magda as "Rare". It ranks above 94.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,860 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Magda most popular?
The single biggest year for Magda was 1966, when 76 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Magda is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Magda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,390 people with the name Magda, or 3.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,567 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 Magda 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 Magda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Magda appears almost entirely female. Of the 9,387 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Magda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Magda is Hispanic at 66.8%. The next largest groups are White (27.7%) and Black (4.1%). 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 Magda most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Magda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.8% (6,274 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 Magda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Magda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Magda 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 Magda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Magda 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 Magda 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 Magda?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.