Monae
A feminine name derived from Aramaic, meaning "beautiful one" or "unique".
Name Census estimates that about 2,213 living Americans carry the first name Monae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Monae today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Monae births was 1998 (113 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Monae. 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 Monae with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.2K
~ 1 in 154,882 Americans
Peak year
1998
113 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,836
Tracked since 1961
Census
Monae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,761 people with the first name Monae, which placed it at #8,273 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
#8,273
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,761 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Monae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monae is Black at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) 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 Monae 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 Monae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.7% · 1,403
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 154
- Two or more races5.4% · 95
- White4.8% · 84
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 8
Popularity
Monae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Monae from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 776 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
Monae 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 Monae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Monaes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, New York, Maryland recorded the most babies named Monae, while Missouri, Louisiana, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 55 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Monae
The name Monae is a modern feminine name that gained popularity in the late 20th century. It is believed to be a variant of the French name Monique, which ultimately derives from the Greek name Monika. Monika is a feminine form of the masculine name Monikos, which means "lone" or "unique" in Greek.
While the name Monae itself does not have a long historical record, its roots can be traced back to ancient Greek culture. The concept of uniqueness or individuality was highly valued in ancient Greek philosophy, and names reflecting these qualities were often bestowed upon children.
There are no definitive historical references or ancient texts that specifically mention the name Monae. However, the name's connection to the Greek word "monikos" suggests a possible link to philosophical or literary works that explored the themes of individuality and self-discovery.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Monae are relatively recent, with the name gaining popularity in the late 20th century, particularly in the United States. One of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name Monae was American singer and actress Monae Idlett Mervitt, born in 1976.
Other notable individuals named Monae include:
1. Monae Bateman, an American dancer and actress born in 1977.
2. Monae Everett, an American actress and model born in 1982.
3. Monae Davis, an American basketball player born in 1987.
4. Monae Nichols, an American singer and songwriter born in 1990.
5. Monae Love, an American reality television personality born in 1993.
While the name Monae does not have a long historical lineage, its connection to the Greek concept of uniqueness and individuality has likely contributed to its modern appeal. As a relatively new name, its usage and popularity will continue to evolve over time.
People
Monae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Monae 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
Monae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Monae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,213 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Monae 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 154,882 US residents.
Is Monae a common name?
We classify Monae as "Rare". It ranks above 94.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,270 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Monae most popular?
The single biggest year for Monae was 1998, when 113 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Monae is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Monae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,761 people with the name Monae, or 0.58 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,273 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 Monae 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 Monae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Monae appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,757 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Monae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monae is Black at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) 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 Monae most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Monae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.7% (1,403 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 Monae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Monae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Monae 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 Monae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Monae 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 Monae 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 the name Monae?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.