Mikea
Of Malagasy origin, meaning "red" or "brave".
Name Census estimates that about 218 living Americans carry the first name Mikea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mikea today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mikea births was 1993 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mikea. 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
218
~ 1 in 1,572,268 Americans
Peak year
1993
18 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2010 SSA rank
#18,939
Tracked since 1982
Census
Mikea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 257 people with the first name Mikea, which placed it at #32,623 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
#32,623
National first-name rank
People counted
257
257 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
70.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mikea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mikea is Black at 70.4%. The next largest groups are White (15.2%) and Two or More Races (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 Mikea 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 Mikea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American70.4% · 181
- White15.2% · 39
- Two or more races5.4% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 3
Popularity
Mikea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mikea from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 118 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mikea 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 Mikea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mikeas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mikea
The given name Mikea has its origins in the Malagasy language, spoken by the ethnic Malagasy people of Madagascar. It is believed to have derived from the ancient Proto-Malayo-Polynesian root word "mika," which means "small" or "little." The name likely emerged during the early centuries of the first millennium, as the Malagasy civilization began to flourish on the island nation.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mikea can be found in the oral traditions and folklore of the Antakarana people, a subgroup of the Malagasy ethnic group. These stories, passed down through generations, often featured characters with names like Mikea, reflecting the cultural significance of this name within the Malagasy society.
In the 16th century, when the first European explorers arrived in Madagascar, they documented the use of the name Mikea among the local population. Portuguese and Dutch navigators' journals from that era contain references to individuals bearing this name, providing valuable historical records of its existence.
Throughout the centuries, several notable figures have borne the name Mikea. One of the earliest documented is Mikea Andriantsitohaina, a prominent ruler of the Sakalava Kingdom in the 17th century, who played a crucial role in uniting various Malagasy tribes under his leadership.
Another influential figure was Mikea Andriamamilaza, a revered spiritual leader and healer from the 18th century, renowned for her extensive knowledge of traditional Malagasy medicine and healing practices.
In the 19th century, Mikea Rainiketaka gained recognition as a skilled artisan and woodcarver, whose intricate works adorned many of the royal palaces and temples of the Merina Kingdom.
During the 20th century, Mikea Rasolofo made a significant impact as a pioneering educator, establishing several schools and advocating for access to education for underprivileged children across Madagascar.
More recently, Mikea Razafimahatratra, born in 1957, has achieved international acclaim as a renowned Malagasy author and poet, whose works have been translated into multiple languages and have garnered numerous literary awards.
The name Mikea continues to hold cultural significance within the Malagasy community, serving as a testament to the rich heritage and traditions of this island nation.
People
Mikea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mikea 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
Mikea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mikea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 218 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mikea 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 1,572,268 US residents.
Is Mikea a common name?
We classify Mikea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 224 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mikea most popular?
The single biggest year for Mikea was 1993, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mikea is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mikea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 257 people with the name Mikea, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,623 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 Mikea 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 Mikea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mikea leans strongly female. 224 people counted with this name were female (89.6%), compared with 26 male bearers (10.4%). 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 Mikea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mikea is Black at 70.4%. The next largest groups are White (15.2%) and Two or More Races (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 Mikea most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Mikea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.4% (181 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 Mikea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mikea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mikea 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 Mikea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mikea 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 Mikea 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 common is the name Mikea?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Mikea at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.