NameCensus.
Very Rare

Mariah Carey

There are approximately 21 people named Mariah Carey living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 16,321,635 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Mariah with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Carey. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.

Expected bearers

21

1 in 16,321,635

Named Mariah

111K

Alive today

Named Carey

65K

Alive today

US population

343M

Denominator

The first name Mariah

Estimated living: 111K

Rarity: Common

Gender: Female

Peak year: 1996

Average age: 24

The surname Carey

Estimated bearers: 65K

Rarity: Uncommon

Census rank: #601

Per 100K: 19.09

Top ancestry: White (80.9%)

First name trend

Mariah: popularity over time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Mariah. The peak year was 1996 with 5,454 births. The average person named Mariah today is 24 years old.

Babies born per year

MaleFemale
01K3K4K5K18801900192019401960198020002020

Ethnicity

Ancestry of the Carey surname

Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Carey, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 80.9%.

  • White80.9%
  • Black or African American13.5%
  • Hispanic or Latino2.3%
  • Two or more races2.0%
  • American Indian and Alaska Native0.7%
  • Asian and Pacific Islander0.6%

Methodology

How we calculated this

The first name Mariah has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0322% of the US population, based on 110,502 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).

The surname Carey appears at a rate of 19.09 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0191%.

Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 21 people with the full name Mariah Carey. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.

Read the full methodology.

Related

Other people with the surname Carey

FAQ

Mariah Carey: questions and answers

How many people are named Mariah Carey?

We estimate approximately 21 people in the United States share the full name Mariah Carey. That works out to about 1 in 16,321,635 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0322%) with the surname frequency (19.09 per 100K) against the current US population.

How rare is the name Mariah Carey?

We classify Mariah Carey as "Very Rare". About 1 in 16,321,635 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.

Is Mariah a male or female name?

Mariah is predominantly female. Out of 114,563 total SSA registrations, 0.2% were male and 99.8% were female. See the full Mariah profile for detailed gender data.

Where does this data come from?

First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.

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There are 21 people

with the full name

Mariah Carey

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