Recorded 1973–2025 · United States
Messiah was most popular in 2021, when 2,265 American babies were given the name — ranking #306 that year. In 2025 it ranked #406, with 1,675 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 28,100 people named Messiah.
Messiah first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1973, which makes it about 52 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 50 of the 53 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 28,100 American births named Messiah between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 27,865 are estimated to be alive today.
1,675 American babies were named Messiah in 2025, ranking #406 that year.
Messiah is rising. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 1,935 births a year, against 1,009 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +92% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Messiah is a boy’s name — 3.7% of the 28,100 Americans given it were girls and 96.3% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 1% girls and 99% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 27,865 Americans named Messiah are alive today — 99% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 8 years old, and half are between 4 and 11. That is a narrow band because Messiah is a young name — it only became common recently, so almost everyone carrying it is still a child or a young adult.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Messiah on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org