Mahi
A Hindi name meaning the Moon or Moonlight.
Name Census estimates that about 1,232 living Americans carry the first name Mahi. It is a predominantly female name (96.6% of registrations). The average person named Mahi today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mahi births was 2009 (100 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mahi. 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 Mahi with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Mahi is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 278,210 Americans
Peak year
2009
100 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,079
Tracked since 2001
Census
Mahi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,268 people with the first name Mahi, which placed it at #10,489 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
#10,489
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,268 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
85.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mahi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.3%) and Black (3.9%). 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 Mahi 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 Mahi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander85.9% · 1,089
- White7.3% · 92
- Black or African American3.9% · 50
- Two or more races1.6% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 9
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Mahi
Mahi leans heavily female at 96.6% of total registrations, but 42 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Mahi as a male name
- Ranked #9,507 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (8 births)
Mahi as a female name
- Ranked #4,079 in 2024
- 36 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (100 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mahi leans strongly female. 1,120 people counted with this name were female (88.9%), compared with 140 male bearers (11.1%).
Popularity
Mahi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mahi from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 610 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Mahi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mahi 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 Mahi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mahis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. New Jersey, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Mahi, while Ohio, North Carolina, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mahi
The name Mahi is derived from the Sanskrit word "mahi," which means "earth" or "land." This name has its roots in ancient Indian culture and can be traced back to the Vedic period, around the second millennium BCE.
In Hindu mythology, Mahi is one of the names used to refer to the earth goddess Prithvi or Bhudevi. The name is mentioned in several ancient Hindu texts, including the Vedas and the Puranas, where it is associated with fertility, abundance, and the nurturing aspects of nature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mahi can be found in the Rigveda, one of the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, composed around 1500 BCE to 1200 BCE. In the Rigveda, there are hymns dedicated to the earth goddess, where she is referred to as Mahi.
Throughout history, the name Mahi has been borne by several notable individuals. One of the most famous was Mahi Rawal, a 12th-century ruler of the Chahamana dynasty in present-day Rajasthan, India. He is renowned for his bravery and military campaigns against the invading Muslim forces.
Another significant figure was Mahi Pala, an 8th-century Buddhist philosopher and scholar from the Pala Empire in ancient Bengal (now Bangladesh and parts of India). He was known for his contributions to Buddhist philosophy and his patronage of Buddhist universities and monasteries.
In the realm of literature, Mahi Laghukatha was a prominent 20th-century Nepali writer and novelist. She is regarded as one of the pioneers of modernist literature in Nepal and is known for her works that explored themes of gender, identity, and social issues.
The name Mahi has also been associated with celestial bodies. In Hindu astrology, Mahi is one of the names given to the planet Mars, which is considered a powerful celestial force influencing courage, strength, and assertiveness.
Another notable figure was Mahi Bindu Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, a 19th-century Nepalese military leader and Prime Minister of Nepal. He played a significant role in modernizing and centralizing the administration of Nepal during his tenure.
While the name Mahi has its origins in ancient Indian culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and continues to be used in various regions, particularly in South Asia and among communities with Hindu or Buddhist cultural influences.
People
Mahi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mahi 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
Mahi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mahi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,232 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mahi 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 278,210 US residents.
Is Mahi a common name?
We classify Mahi as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,244 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mahi most popular?
The single biggest year for Mahi was 2009, when 100 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mahi is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mahi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,268 people with the name Mahi, or 0.42 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,489 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 Mahi 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 Mahi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mahi leans strongly female. 1,120 people counted with this name were female (88.9%), compared with 140 male bearers (11.1%). 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 Mahi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mahi is Asian/Pacific Islander at 85.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.3%) and Black (3.9%). 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 Mahi most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mahi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.9% (1,089 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 Mahi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mahi a female name?
Yes, 96.6% of people registered as Mahi 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 Mahi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mahi 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 Mahi 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 have the name Mahi?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Mahi, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.