Miracle
A wondrous, marvelous, or astonishing event or occurrence.
Name Census estimates that about 21,016 living Americans carry the first name Miracle. It sits at #469 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly female name (97.7% of registrations). The average person named Miracle today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Miracle births was 2016 (901 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Miracle. 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 Miracle with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Miracle is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 491 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Miracle is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
21K
~ 1 in 16,309 Americans
Peak year
2016
901 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#469
Tracked since 1960
Census
Miracle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 13,203 people with the first name Miracle, which placed it at #2,058 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
#2,058
National first-name rank
People counted
13K
13,203 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Miracle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Miracle is Black at 71.8%. The next largest groups are White (10.7%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Miracle 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 Miracle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.8% · 9,485
- White10.7% · 1,416
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 1,243
- Two or more races5.3% · 694
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 254
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 111
Gender
Gender distribution for Miracle
Miracle leans heavily female at 97.7% of total registrations, but 491 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Miracle as a male name
- Ranked #4,271 in 2024
- 25 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (34 births)
Miracle as a female name
- Ranked #469 in 2024
- 660 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (875 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Miracle leans strongly female. 12,784 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 421 male bearers (3.2%).
Popularity
Miracle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Miracle from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 7,821 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Miracle remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Miracle 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 Miracle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Miracles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 42 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Florida recorded the most babies named Miracle, while South Dakota, Oregon, Hawaii recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 453 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Miracle
The name Miracle has its origins in the English language and can be traced back to the late 16th century. It is derived from the Latin word "miraculum," which means a marvelous event or wonder. The name is associated with a powerful and divine event or occurrence that is considered extraordinary or impossible by natural means.
In the Christian tradition, miracles are seen as acts of God that transcend the laws of nature. The Bible contains numerous accounts of miracles performed by Jesus Christ and his disciples, such as healing the sick, walking on water, and raising the dead. The name Miracle may have been bestowed upon children as a symbol of faith or a testament to a miraculous event surrounding their birth or life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Miracle dates back to the late 16th century in England. In 1593, a woman named Miracle Fletcher was baptized in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, London. The name was likely chosen to celebrate a miraculous event or as a reflection of religious devotion.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Miracle. One of the most famous was Miracle Milton, an English actress and dancer who lived from 1837 to 1916. She was a prominent figure in the Victorian era and performed in various theatrical productions and music halls.
Another well-known figure was Miracle Whittington, an American civil rights activist who lived from 1899 to 1992. She played a significant role in the African-American civil rights movement and worked alongside prominent leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
In the realm of literature, Miracle Saunders was an English poet and writer who lived from 1924 to 2008. She gained recognition for her poetic works and contributed to the development of modern English literature.
Miracle Jackson, born in 1947, was an American artist and sculptor known for her innovative use of materials and exploration of themes related to identity and cultural heritage. Her works have been exhibited in several prestigious galleries and museums.
Lastly, Miracle Thompson, a British athlete born in 1985, made a name for herself in the world of track and field. She represented Great Britain in various international competitions and won several medals, including a gold medal in the 4x100m relay at the 2012 London Olympics.
These individuals, spanning different eras and fields, exemplify the diverse backgrounds and achievements of those who bore the name Miracle, a name that continues to evoke a sense of wonder and the extraordinary.
People
Miracle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Miracle 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
Miracle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Miracle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21,016 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Miracle 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 16,309 US residents.
Is Miracle a common name?
We classify Miracle as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21,327 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Miracle most popular?
The single biggest year for Miracle was 2016, when 901 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Miracle is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Miracle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 13,203 people with the name Miracle, or 4.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,058 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 Miracle 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 Miracle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Miracle leans strongly female. 12,784 people counted with this name were female (96.8%), compared with 421 male bearers (3.2%). 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 Miracle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Miracle is Black at 71.8%. The next largest groups are White (10.7%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Miracle most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Miracle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.8% (9,485 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 Miracle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Miracle a female name?
Yes, 97.7% of people registered as Miracle 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 Miracle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Miracle 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 Miracle 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 Miracle?
Find out how many Americans are named Miracle on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.