Mazi
Masculine · “Igbo title of respect for a man”
Mazi is given to both — 1,091 boys and 210 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Four letters, two beats, and no silent anything: Mazi is the kind of name that arrives fully assembled. In Igbo, Mazi is the honorific placed before a man's name — the equivalent of "Mr." — and it has been spoken that way in southeastern Nigeria for generations. In American records it has been quietly present for decades and is now moving upward rather than fading.
How old is the name Mazi?
Mazi first appears in US birth records in 1977 — 48 years ago. The typical Mazi is a kid of about 3 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,100 people named Mazi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mazi most popular?
Mazi peaked in 2023, reaching #1084 nationally. Today it ranks #1241, 157 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Mazi
The clearest documented life of Mazi is as an Igbo honorific, used before a man's name in the way English uses "Mr." — a word of address rather than a label, and one still in everyday use in Nigeria and across the Igbo diaspora. Names that begin as titles often end up as names, and Mazi has followed that path in American usage, appearing most strongly in states with substantial West African communities. A second, unrelated route brings it in as the clipped form of the Persian Maziar, a name with its own long record in Iran. The American chart cannot tell these apart, so the spelling now carries both.
Meaningscholars disagree
Igbo title of respect for a man, roughly "Mr."; also used as a short form of Persian Maziar
Two serious roads meet at this spelling. In Igbo, Mazi is a documented honorific — a respectful form of address prefixed to a man's name, as in Mazi Okonkwo — and it has moved from title to given name in some families. Separately, Mazi serves English-speaking households as a short form of the Persian Maziar/Mazyar, borne by a ninth-century ruler of Tabaristan. Which reading applies depends entirely on the family; neither cancels the other.
Pronouncing Mazi
MAH-zee
Stress on the first syllable, with an open "ah". Expect some readers to try MAY-zee by analogy with Mazie and Maisie; a single correction usually settles it, since the spelling gives no other clues to argue with.
Nicknames for Mazi
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1977
- Most boys named
- 2023198 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1084reached in 2023
- Change vs 2024
- −3.6%161 in 2025, from 167
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Mazi in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mazi in Igbo — same name
- Maziar in Persian — related form
- Mazyar in Persian — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Georgia, Louisiana.
Mazis among us
people named Mazi are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 10,609 born in 2025 was named Mazi
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Duran test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mazi's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Duran climbed just as high around 1984, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Duran's path sketches the road Mazi is walking now.
Mazi is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Mazi is headed
Mazi looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 44% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Mazi beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mazi in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Short, two syllables, four letters, and phonetic — it fits on any form and needs no shortening.
- One spelling only, with no rival variants competing for it in English.
- Works across Igbo-speaking and Persian-speaking families, so it travels without translation.
- Long enough on the American record to be established rather than newly coined, while still rare in classrooms.
- Among Igbo speakers, Mazi is first and foremost a title of respect used before a man's name. Some will read it as "Mr." rather than as a given name — often charmingly, occasionally with a raised eyebrow.
- Mazie and Maisie are established girls' names, so expect a slice of misreadings as MAY-zee, and the occasional assumption about gender before anyone meets the child.
- It is uncommon enough that he will usually be introducing it rather than recognizing it — easy to say once heard, but rarely guessed cold.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Mazi
Masculine · #1241 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mazis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Mazi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mazi in 2025?
- Mazi ranks #1241 among US boy names in 2025, with 161 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mazi?
- About 1 in every 10,609 US boys born in 2025 was named Mazi — 161 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mazi with classmates?
- Mazi will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mazi
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ammar#1241 · Sultan#1241 · Oakland#1244 · Cedar#1244 · Rian#1244 · Jet#1244 · Cory#1244 · Ravi#1244
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mazi? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mazi and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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