Muna
An Arabic name meaning desired, longed for.
Name Census estimates that about 1,226 living Americans carry the first name Muna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Muna today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Muna births was 2019 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Muna. 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 Muna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 279,571 Americans
Peak year
2019
51 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,161
Tracked since 1968
Census
Muna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,931 people with the first name Muna, which placed it at #4,656 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
#4,656
National first-name rank
People counted
3.9K
3,931 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
42.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Muna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Muna is White at 42.8%. The next largest groups are Black (42.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.3%). 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 Muna 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 Muna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.8% · 1,684
- Black or African American42.3% · 1,663
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.3% · 406
- Two or more races3.5% · 139
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Muna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Muna 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 374 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Muna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Muna 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 Muna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Munas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Minnesota, Ohio, California recorded the most babies named Muna, while Texas, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Muna
The name Muna has its origins in the Arabic language, tracing back to the 7th century. It is derived from the Arabic word "munayn," which means "desires" or "wishes." The name is predominantly found in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco.
In Islamic tradition, the name Muna is associated with the sacred valley near Mecca, where pilgrims gather during the Hajj rituals. The Valley of Muna is mentioned in the Quran, and it is believed to be the place where Prophet Muhammad performed the symbolic ritual of stoning the pillars that represent Satan.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Muna can be found in the 10th century work "Kitab al-Aghani" (The Book of Songs), which mentions a famous female singer and poet named Muna al-Qazzaz. She was renowned for her captivating voice and lyrical compositions, and her contributions to the development of Arabic music are still celebrated today.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Muna. Muna Zaki (1901-1990) was an Egyptian actress and singer who gained popularity during the golden age of Egyptian cinema. She was a pioneering figure in the entertainment industry and paved the way for future generations of actresses.
Muna Wassef (1942-2018) was an Egyptian actress and activist known for her work in promoting human rights and social justice. She was widely respected for her dedication to humanitarian causes and her advocacy for women's rights and education.
Muna Abo Rayyan (born 1980) is a contemporary Iraqi poet and writer whose works explore themes of identity, displacement, and the human experience. Her poetry has been widely acclaimed and translated into multiple languages.
Muna Al-Fuzai (born 1962) is a Kuwaiti writer and journalist who has made significant contributions to the literary scene in the Arabian Gulf region. Her novels and short stories have garnered critical acclaim and brought attention to the diverse voices of Arab women writers.
Muna Haddad (born 1971) is a Jordanian-born entrepreneur and philanthropist. She founded Barakat, a non-profit organization that provides educational opportunities for refugees and marginalized communities in the Middle East and North Africa.
The name Muna has a rich cultural heritage and has been carried by influential figures across various fields, from literature and arts to activism and entrepreneurship, leaving an indelible mark on the history and traditions of the Arabic-speaking world.
People
Muna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Muna 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
Muna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Muna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,226 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Muna 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 279,571 US residents.
Is Muna a common name?
We classify Muna as "Rare". It ranks above 91.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,255 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Muna most popular?
The single biggest year for Muna was 2019, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Muna is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Muna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,931 people with the name Muna, or 1.30 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,656 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 Muna 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 Muna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Muna leans strongly female. 3,874 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 54 male bearers (1.4%). 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 Muna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Muna is White at 42.8%. The next largest groups are Black (42.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.3%). 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 Muna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Muna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.8% (1,684 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 Muna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Muna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Muna 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 Muna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Muna 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 Muna 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 share the name Muna?
Want to know how many Americans are named Muna? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.