Mysha
An invented name, possibly a diminutive of Michelle or Michaela.
Name Census estimates that about 557 living Americans carry the first name Mysha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mysha today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mysha births was 2011 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mysha. 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 Mysha with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
557
~ 1 in 615,358 Americans
Peak year
2011
40 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,237
Tracked since 1979
Census
Mysha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 475 people with the first name Mysha, which placed it at #21,400 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
#21,400
National first-name rank
People counted
475
475 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
58.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mysha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mysha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 58.5%. The next largest groups are Black (18.9%) and White (12.0%). 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 Mysha 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 Mysha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander58.5% · 278
- Black or African American18.9% · 90
- White12.0% · 57
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 24
- Two or more races4.4% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 5
Popularity
Mysha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mysha from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 245 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Mysha remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mysha 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 Mysha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Myshas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Mysha, while New Jersey, New York, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mysha
The name Mysha has its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language of India, dating back to the 1st millennium BCE. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "misha," which means "sweet" or "honey." This name was likely given to children as a term of endearment, reflecting the sweetness and innocence associated with childhood.
In Hindu mythology, the name Mysha is sometimes associated with Mishri, a minor deity who was believed to symbolize the sweetness of life. While this connection is not well-documented, it suggests that the name may have held spiritual significance in ancient Indian culture.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mysha dates back to the Gupta Empire, which ruled over parts of modern-day India and Pakistan from the 4th to the 6th century CE. During this period, the name appeared in various inscriptions and historical records, indicating its use among the nobility and educated classes of the time.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Mysha was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived during the reign of the Gupta Emperor Chandragupta II in the 4th century CE. Her works, though largely lost to time, were highly regarded for their literary merit and mastery of the Sanskrit language.
In the 7th century CE, a Buddhist monk named Mysha Tashi Tsering gained renown for his contributions to the spread of Buddhism in Tibet. He is credited with translating numerous Buddhist texts from Sanskrit into Tibetan, helping to establish the religion's roots in the region.
During the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, a princess named Mysha Begum was known for her patronage of the arts and her influential role in the royal court. She was a skilled calligrapher and poet, and her works were celebrated for their beauty and depth.
In the 19th century, a notable figure named Mysha Devi rose to prominence as a social reformer and advocate for women's education in India. She established several schools for girls and worked tirelessly to promote literacy and empowerment among women in a society where such opportunities were limited.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples illustrate the rich history and diverse contexts in which the name Mysha has been used throughout the centuries, reflecting its enduring presence in various cultures and traditions across South Asia and beyond.
People
Mysha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mysha 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
Mysha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mysha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 557 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mysha 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 615,358 US residents.
Is Mysha a common name?
We classify Mysha as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 566 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mysha most popular?
The single biggest year for Mysha was 2011, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mysha 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 Mysha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 475 people with the name Mysha, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,400 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 Mysha 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 Mysha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mysha appears almost entirely female. Of the 466 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Mysha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mysha is Asian/Pacific Islander at 58.5%. The next largest groups are Black (18.9%) and White (12.0%). 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 Mysha most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mysha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.5% (278 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 Mysha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mysha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mysha 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 Mysha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mysha 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 Mysha 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 Mysha?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.