Mariah Carey
There are approximately 20 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 17,137,717 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 Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
20
1 in 17,137,717
Named Mariah
111K
Alive today
Named Carey
62K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 111K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1996
Average age: 24
Top Census group: White (40.1%)
Estimated bearers: 62K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #614
Per 100K: 17.98
Top ancestry: White (77.8%)
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
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mariah
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Mariah, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 40.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mariah described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Mariah at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White40.1% · 36,351
- Hispanic or Latino25.4% · 23,005
- Black or African American23.2% · 21,006
- Two or more races8.6% · 7,794
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 1,489
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 984
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Carey surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Carey, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 77.8%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Carey described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Carey at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White77.8% · 41,814
- Black or African American13.2% · 7,068
- Two or more races4.1% · 2,192
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 1,900
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 414
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 348
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).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Mariah right now.
The surname Carey appears at a rate of 17.98 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0180%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 20 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.
Related
Other people named Mariah
Related
Other people with the surname Carey
FAQ
Mariah Carey: questions and answers
How many people are named Mariah Carey?
We estimate approximately 20 people in the United States share the full name Mariah Carey. That works out to about 1 in 17,137,717 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0322%) with the surname frequency (17.98 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Mariah Carey?
We classify Mariah Carey as "Very Rare". About 1 in 17,137,717 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 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people are named Mariah Carey?
See how many people are called Mariah Carey on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.