Meila
A feminine name of Lithuanian origin meaning "beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 591 living Americans carry the first name Meila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meila today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meila births was 2018 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meila. 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 Meila with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
591
~ 1 in 579,957 Americans
Peak year
2018
53 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,425
Tracked since 1998
Census
Meila in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 399 people with the first name Meila, which placed it at #24,220 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
#24,220
National first-name rank
People counted
399
399 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meila
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meila is White at 47.9%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (15.8%). 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 Meila 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 Meila at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.9% · 191
- Black or African American16.3% · 65
- Hispanic or Latino15.8% · 63
- Two or more races14.0% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 6
Popularity
Meila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meila from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 351 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Meila remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meila 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 Meila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Meilas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Illinois, Ohio recorded the most babies named Meila, while Washington, Ohio, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Meila
The name Meila has its origins in the ancient Germanic language, with roots dating back to the 5th century AD. The name is derived from the Old High German word "meil," which means "strength" or "power." This suggests that the name was initially bestowed upon individuals who exhibited exceptional physical or mental fortitude.
In the early medieval period, the name Meila was particularly prevalent among the Frankish and Alemanni tribes that inhabited present-day Germany and parts of France. Its popularity spread as these tribes migrated and interacted with other cultures across Europe, leading to variations in spelling and pronunciation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meila can be found in the Codex Sangallensis, a 9th-century manuscript containing a collection of writings from the Abbey of St. Gallen in Switzerland. This manuscript includes a list of names, among which Meila is mentioned.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Meila. One such individual was Meila of Anjou, a 12th-century noblewoman from the French region of Anjou. She was known for her influential role in the court of King Henry II of England.
Another prominent figure was Meila von Wittelsbach, a 14th-century Bavarian duchess who played a significant role in the politics of the Holy Roman Empire during her time. She was instrumental in securing the succession of her son, Louis IV, to the imperial throne.
In the 16th century, Meila Bjelica was a celebrated Croatian poet and writer. Her works, which explored themes of love and nature, were widely acclaimed and helped to shape the literary landscape of the Renaissance period in the Balkans.
Moving forward to the 19th century, Meila Hartmann was a German educator and advocate for women's rights. She established several schools and organizations dedicated to promoting educational opportunities for women, and her work had a lasting impact on the advancement of gender equality.
Finally, in the early 20th century, Meila Sacchi was an Italian opera singer renowned for her powerful soprano voice. She performed on prestigious stages across Europe and is remembered as one of the great operatic talents of her time.
These examples demonstrate the enduring presence of the name Meila throughout various cultures and historical periods, reflecting its rich heritage and diverse associations with individuals who have left their mark on society.
People
Meila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meila 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
Meila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 591 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meila 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 579,957 US residents.
Is Meila a common name?
We classify Meila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 596 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meila most popular?
The single biggest year for Meila was 2018, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meila is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meila in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 399 people with the name Meila, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,220 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 Meila 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 Meila?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meila appears almost entirely female. Of the 403 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Meila?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meila is White at 47.9%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (15.8%). 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 Meila most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Meila in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.9% (191 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 Meila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meila 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 Meila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meila 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 Meila 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 called Meila?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.