Maki
A Japanese feminine name meaning "roll" or "wrapped sushi".
Name Census estimates that about 707 living Americans carry the first name Maki. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 70.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Maki today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maki births was 2005 (45 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maki. 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 Maki with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
707
~ 1 in 484,801 Americans
Peak year
2005
45 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,495
Tracked since 1970
Census
Maki in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,652 people with the first name Maki, which placed it at #8,705 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
#8,705
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,652 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
62.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maki
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.9%) and White (5.4%). 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 Maki 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 Maki at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander62.0% · 1,024
- Black or African American22.9% · 379
- White5.4% · 89
- Two or more races5.1% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 70
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Maki
Maki is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 721 total registrations, 510 (70.7%) were male and 211 (29.3%) were female.
Maki as a male name
- Ranked #10,495 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (40 births)
Maki as a female name
- Ranked #12,915 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Maki on both sides of the split. Of the 1,652 people counted with this name, 523 were male (31.7%) and 1,129 were female (68.3%).
Popularity
Maki: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maki 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 303 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
Maki 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 Maki during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Makis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Florida, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Maki, while Pennsylvania, California, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maki
The name Maki is a given name of Japanese origin. It is believed to have originated as a gender-neutral name, though it is more commonly used for females in modern times. The name is derived from the Japanese word "maki," which means "rolling" or "coiling," possibly referring to the way rolls of fabric or paper are rolled up.
In ancient Japanese culture, the name Maki was often associated with the art of origami, the traditional Japanese art of paper folding. It was considered a name that embodied the delicate and intricate nature of origami, as well as the patience and precision required in the craft.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maki dates back to the 8th century, where it was mentioned in the ancient Japanese poetry anthology, the Man'yōshū. In this text, a poem was dedicated to a woman named Maki, who was celebrated for her beauty and grace.
Throughout Japanese history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Maki. One of the most famous was Maki Kyōko (1923-2017), a renowned Japanese actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout her career. She was considered a cultural icon and was awarded the prestigious Order of Culture by the Japanese government in 2005.
Another notable figure was Maki Kōji (1924-2021), a Japanese mathematician and academic who made significant contributions to the field of topology. He was a professor at the University of Tokyo and was awarded the prestigious Asahi Prize in 1987 for his research.
In the world of literature, Maki Izumi (1936-2021) was a celebrated Japanese novelist and essayist. Her works often explored themes of family, love, and the complexities of human relationships. She received numerous literary awards, including the prestigious Noma Literary Prize in 1989.
In the realm of sports, Maki Tsukada (born 1983) is a Japanese professional tennis player who has represented Japan in several international tournaments, including the Olympic Games. She has won multiple singles and doubles titles on the WTA Tour.
Maki Miyamura (born 1988) is a Japanese professional boxer who has held multiple world titles in the minimumweight and light flyweight divisions. She is considered one of the most successful female boxers in Japanese history.
The name Maki has been a part of Japanese culture for centuries, and its meaning and associations have evolved over time. From its origins in the art of origami to its representation in various fields, the name continues to hold a significant place in Japanese society.
People
Maki + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maki 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
Maki: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maki?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 707 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maki 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 484,801 US residents.
Is Maki a common name?
We classify Maki as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 721 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maki most popular?
The single biggest year for Maki was 2005, when 45 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maki is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maki in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,652 people with the name Maki, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,705 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 Maki 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 Maki?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Maki on both sides of the split. Of the 1,652 people counted with this name, 523 were male (31.7%) and 1,129 were female (68.3%). 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 Maki?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maki is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Black (22.9%) and White (5.4%). 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 Maki most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Maki in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.0% (1,024 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 Maki in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maki a male name?
Yes, 70.7% of people registered as Maki in the SSA data are male. 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 Maki still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maki 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 Maki 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 Maki?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.