Makyia
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a blend meaning "beloved gift".
Name Census estimates that about 433 living Americans carry the first name Makyia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Makyia today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Makyia births was 2004 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Makyia. 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
433
~ 1 in 791,580 Americans
Peak year
2004
34 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,547
Tracked since 1995
Census
Makyia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 339 people with the first name Makyia, which placed it at #27,134 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
#27,134
National first-name rank
People counted
339
339 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
77.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Makyia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makyia is Black at 77.3%. The next largest groups are White (11.5%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). 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 Makyia 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 Makyia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American77.3% · 262
- White11.5% · 39
- Two or more races6.8% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 5
Popularity
Makyia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Makyia from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 236 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
Makyia 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 Makyia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Makyias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Makyia
The name Makyia has its origins in the Polynesian languages spoken across the islands of the Pacific Ocean. It is believed to have emerged as a variant spelling of the Hawaiian name Makiya, which traces its roots back to the early 16th century when the islands were first settled.
The name Makiya is derived from the Hawaiian words "maki" meaning "green" and "ya" meaning "sacred or divine." Together, the name is often interpreted to mean "sacred greenery" or "divine nature." This connection to the natural world and reverence for the land reflects the deep spiritual and cultural ties that the indigenous Hawaiians had with their island home.
While the name Makiya has a long history in Hawaiian culture, the variant spelling Makyia is relatively modern. The earliest recorded use of this particular spelling can be traced back to the late 19th century, when it began appearing in official records and documents during the period of Hawaiian monarchy.
Throughout its history, the name Makyia has been borne by several notable figures. One of the earliest was Makyia Kaleialoha, a Hawaiian chieftess and landowner who lived in the early 19th century and played a significant role in the preservation of traditional Hawaiian culture and customs.
Another prominent figure was Makyia Keawe, a celebrated hula dancer and teacher who lived from 1875 to 1955. She was widely regarded as a master of the ancient art form and helped to ensure its survival and transmission to future generations.
In the realm of literature, Makyia Kahele (1920-2001) was a renowned Hawaiian writer and poet whose works celebrated the beauty and resilience of her island home and its people.
On the international stage, Makyia Taulapapa (1936-2017) was a Samoan diplomat and politician who served as her country's ambassador to the United Nations and played a key role in promoting Pacific Island issues on the global stage.
Lastly, Makyia Nui (1952-2018) was a respected Maori artist and sculptor from New Zealand, whose works drew inspiration from the rich cultural traditions and natural landscapes of her homeland.
While these are just a few examples, the name Makyia has a rich and diverse history, reflecting the unique cultures and experiences of the Pacific Islands and their people.
People
Makyia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Makyia 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
Makyia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Makyia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 433 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Makyia 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 791,580 US residents.
Is Makyia a common name?
We classify Makyia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 439 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Makyia most popular?
The single biggest year for Makyia was 2004, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Makyia is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Makyia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 339 people with the name Makyia, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,134 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 Makyia 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 Makyia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Makyia appears almost entirely female. Of the 335 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Makyia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Makyia is Black at 77.3%. The next largest groups are White (11.5%) and Two or More Races (6.8%). 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 Makyia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Makyia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.3% (262 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 Makyia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Makyia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Makyia 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 Makyia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Makyia 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 Makyia 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 Makyia as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.