Messiah
Feminine · “Hebrew mashiach”
Messiah is given to both — 1,036 girls and 27,064 boys since 1880. See Messiah as a boy nameSee other names given to both
In 2013 a Tennessee magistrate ordered a baby's name changed from Messiah on the grounds that the title belonged to one person only. The ruling was overturned within weeks, and it was unusual mainly because American law almost never touches a given name at all.
How old is the name Messiah?
Messiah first appears in US birth records in 1994 — 31 years ago. The typical Messiah alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 1,000 people named Messiah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Messiah most popular?
Messiah peaked in 2006, reaching #2485 nationally. Today it ranks #10107, 7,622 places below that high. See the whole 2006 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From mashiach to Messiah
The story of Messiah
Most countries police given names to some degree. Iceland maintains an approved register and a naming committee that rules on additions; Germany requires that a name be recognizable as a name and not harmful to the child; Denmark publishes a list of some thousands of approved options; France once required names from the calendar of saints and now lets courts intervene only where a name is contrary to a child's interest. The United States has almost none of that. Restrictions are administrative rather than substantive: character sets, field lengths, no numerals in most states. That is why the Tennessee case drew attention and why it failed on appeal. It is also why the American name records are the strangest and richest in the world, since almost anything a parent writes becomes a name.
Meaning
Hebrew mashiach, anointed one
From Hebrew mashiach, one who is anointed, through Greek and Latin. The Greek translation of the same word is christos, so Messiah and Christ are one word in two languages. The name is overwhelmingly male in American use; the small female peak is 2006.
How the name formed
- mashiach
- Messias
- Messiah
Related forms: Mashiach · Mesias · Christos
Pronouncing Messiah
muh-SY-uh
Three syllables, stress on the second. The Hebrew mashiach has the stress at the end and a final consonant English drops.
Nicknames for Messiah
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
- 1994
- Most girls named
- 200674 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2485reached in 2006
- Change vs 2024
- −35.7%9 in 2025, from 14
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.
Messiah in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mashiach in Hebrew — same name
- Mesias in Spanish — same name
- Christos in Greek — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Georgia, California, Texas.
Messiahs among us
people named Messiah are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 178,585 born in 2025 was named Messiah
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 Evelia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Messiah's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Evelia climbed just as high around 1980, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Evelia's path sketches the road Messiah is walking now.
Messiah sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Messiah beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Messiah in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The word is universally recognized and its history is exact.
- Siah works as a short form and reads as a name rather than a title.
- Three syllables with a strong central stress.
- It is a religious title rather than a personal name, which some will object to.
- The name is used far more often for boys.
- The first syllable clips to an unfortunate English word.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Messiah to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Messiah
Feminine · #10107 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Messiahs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Messiah are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Messiah in 2025?
- Messiah ranks #10107 among US girl names in 2025, with 9 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Messiah?
- About 1 in every 178,585 US girls born in 2025 was named Messiah — 9 in all.
- Will my child share the name Messiah with classmates?
- Messiah will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Messiah
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Berta#10107 · Jettie#10107 · Maye#10107 · Osa#10107 · Fidelia#10107 · Alysa#10107 · Su#10107 · Willie#10107
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Messiah? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Messiah and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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