How rare is the name Messiah?

11,767 people in the United States have the first name Messiah, about 1 in 25,668. It ranks #2,224 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

MESSIAH

#2,224

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
11,767
About
1 in 25,668
This common or more
79%
Who bears it

Of the 11,767 people named Messiah, 75.7% reported their origin as Black, 14.2% as Hispanic or Latino and 6.4% as two or more races. 93.6% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Messiah peaked in 2021, when 2,265 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19732025
Peak year
2021
Births that year
2,265
In 2025*
1,675 ▼26%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 28,100 babies have been given the name since 1973. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Messiah by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2020s, when it ranked #352. The largest share of babies named Messiah, 83.6%, were born in 2013 or later.

1970s#13,04341
1980s#14,35552
1990s#5,444349
2000s#1,7422,498
2010s#51713,426
2020s#35211,734
Generation X 1965–800.2%
Millennials 1981–960.6%
Generation Z 1997–1215.6%
2013 and later83.6%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Messiah is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Messiah has been most common in Nevada (3.4×), Georgia (3×), and Florida (2.4×), and least common in Oregon (0.2×).

26,310 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Messiah

#2,222 Min · 11,776#2,223 Berta · 11,771#2,225 Roslyn · 11,760#2,226 Tyrell · 11,752

Spelled almost the same

3 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Messiah, most common first.

#24,850 Mesiah · 385#32,785 Meshia · 255#37,148 Mekiah · 211

Also a last name

As a last name, Messiah ranks #85,600 of 156,621, with 235 people. See Messiah as a last name

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