Mykala
Feminine name derived from the Greek makarios, meaning "blessed, happy".
Name Census estimates that about 1,263 living Americans carry the first name Mykala. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mykala today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mykala births was 2000 (106 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mykala. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 271,381 Americans
Peak year
2000
106 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2017 SSA rank
#17,638
Tracked since 1984
Census
Mykala in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,201 people with the first name Mykala, which placed it at #10,897 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
#10,897
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,201 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mykala
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mykala is White at 50.4%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Hispanic (9.9%). 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 Mykala 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 Mykala at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.4% · 605
- Black or African American31.6% · 379
- Hispanic or Latino9.9% · 119
- Two or more races6.7% · 80
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 7
Popularity
Mykala: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mykala from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 601 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mykala 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 Mykala during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mykalas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Mykala, while South Carolina, Illinois, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mykala
The name Mykala is believed to have originated from the Greek language, with its roots tracing back to ancient times. It is thought to be a variation of the name Michaela, which itself is a feminine form of the Hebrew name Michael, meaning "who is like God."
In Greek mythology, the name Michael was associated with the archangel Michael, a powerful celestial figure revered for his strength and courage in battling evil forces. The name Mykala, therefore, carries connotations of divine protection and spiritual strength.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mykala can be found in the writings of the 5th-century Greek historian Procopius, who mentioned a woman by that name in his work "History of the Wars." However, it is unclear whether this was a true historical figure or a fictional character.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Mykala. In the 9th century, Mykala of Aachen was a renowned scholar and translator who played a crucial role in the preservation and dissemination of ancient Greek and Roman texts during the Carolingian Renaissance.
In the 12th century, Mykala of Asturias was a influential noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her generous support of poets and artists in the Kingdom of León.
During the Renaissance period, Mykala Pisano (1492-1564) was an Italian sculptor and architect who contributed to the design and construction of several notable buildings in Florence and Rome.
In the 19th century, Mykala Solovyova (1838-1912) was a Russian writer and social activist who advocated for women's rights and education. Her works helped shape the feminist movement in Russia during that era.
More recently, Mykala Ringwalt (1969-) is an American actress and singer known for her roles in various television shows and Broadway productions.
While the name Mykala has its origins in ancient Greek culture, it has transcended geographic and linguistic boundaries over time, embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Its enduring appeal lies in its connection to strength, divinity, and the pursuit of knowledge and artistic expression.
People
Mykala + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mykala 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
Mykala: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mykala?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,263 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mykala 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 271,381 US residents.
Is Mykala a common name?
We classify Mykala as "Rare". It ranks above 91.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,291 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mykala most popular?
The single biggest year for Mykala was 2000, when 106 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mykala is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mykala in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,201 people with the name Mykala, or 0.40 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,897 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 Mykala 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 Mykala?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mykala appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,208 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Mykala?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mykala is White at 50.4%. The next largest groups are Black (31.6%) and Hispanic (9.9%). 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 Mykala most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mykala in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.4% (605 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 Mykala in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mykala a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mykala 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 Mykala still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mykala 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 Mykala 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 Mykala?
See how many people share the name Mykala on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.