Mataya
A Native American name meaning "daughter of grizzly bear".
Name Census estimates that about 1,145 living Americans carry the first name Mataya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mataya today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mataya births was 2003 (76 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mataya. 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 Mataya with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 299,349 Americans
Peak year
2003
76 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,314
Tracked since 1977
Census
Mataya in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 983 people with the first name Mataya, which placed it at #12,598 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
#12,598
National first-name rank
People counted
983
983 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mataya
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mataya is White at 56.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Two or More Races (13.7%). 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 Mataya 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 Mataya at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.7% · 557
- Black or African American14.6% · 144
- Two or more races13.7% · 135
- Hispanic or Latino8.5% · 84
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.2% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 12
Popularity
Mataya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mataya 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 560 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
Mataya 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 Mataya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Matayas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Minnesota, South Dakota, Washington recorded the most babies named Mataya, while Wisconsin, Missouri, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mataya
The name Mataya has its origins in the Sanskrit language and Hindu culture, dating back to ancient times in India. It is derived from the Sanskrit words "mata" meaning "mother" and "ya" which is a suffix denoting a connection or relationship. The name can be interpreted to mean "related to the mother" or "mother's child."
In Hindu mythology and ancient texts, there are references to the goddess Mataya, who was revered as the divine mother and the personification of maternal love, nurturing, and protection. The name Mataya was closely associated with this goddess and was bestowed upon children as a way to invoke her blessings and qualities.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Mataya can be found in the Rigveda, a sacred Hindu scripture composed around 1500–1200 BCE. In this ancient text, the name is used in reference to a female deity or a personification of the divine mother.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mataya. One of the earliest known was Mataya Maharishi (c. 800 BCE), a renowned Hindu sage and philosopher who is credited with writing the treatise "Mataya Upanishad," which explores the concepts of consciousness, self-realization, and the nature of the soul.
Another prominent figure was Mataya Devi (c. 1200 CE), a Hindu mystic and spiritual teacher from the Nath tradition. She was known for her devotional poetry and teachings on the path of bhakti (devotion) and was revered by her followers as an embodiment of the divine mother.
In the 16th century, Mataya Rani (c. 1550–1620) was a powerful ruler of the Mewar kingdom in Rajasthan, India. She is celebrated for her bravery, wisdom, and leadership during a time of turmoil, as she successfully defended her kingdom against invading forces and preserved the rich cultural heritage of her people.
During the 19th century, Mataya Bai (1819–1888) was a renowned classical dancer and courtesan in the court of the Nawab of Awadh. She was highly skilled in the Kathak dance form and played a significant role in preserving and promoting this traditional art form during a period of cultural transition.
More recently, Mataya Shesha (1920–2005) was a celebrated Indian artist and sculptor known for her intricate and spiritual works. Her sculptures, often depicting themes from Hindu mythology, were widely acclaimed and can be found in various museums and galleries around the world.
People
Mataya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mataya 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
Mataya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mataya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,145 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mataya 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 299,349 US residents.
Is Mataya a common name?
We classify Mataya as "Rare". It ranks above 90.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,164 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mataya most popular?
The single biggest year for Mataya was 2003, when 76 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mataya 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 Mataya in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 983 people with the name Mataya, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,598 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 Mataya 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 Mataya?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mataya appears almost entirely female. Of the 990 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 Mataya?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mataya is White at 56.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.6%) and Two or More Races (13.7%). 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 Mataya most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mataya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.7% (557 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 Mataya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mataya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mataya 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 Mataya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mataya 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 Mataya 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 Americans are named Mataya?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Mataya at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.