Messiah
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- meh-SY-a
- Origin
- Hebrew
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,087 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #207 for boys
Messiah is a boys' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “anointed one”. In 2025 it ranked 2,087th for boys in the UK (12 babies) and 207th for boys in the US (1,666 babies).
What does Messiah mean?
Hebrew: from mashiach, via Greek and Latin
“anointed one”
From Hebrew mashiach, 'anointed one', the title given in Judaism to a promised deliverer and in Christianity to Jesus.
Is Messiah a girl's or a boy's name?
Messiah is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 12 boys in the UK and 9 girls and 1,666 boys in the US.
How popular is Messiah in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 2,087th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 12 about 1 in 25,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 53% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 12 boys in the UK were named Messiah, making it the 2,087th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,562nd. Its busiest year was 2023, with 19 boys.
2025 had fewer boys named Messiah than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Messiah in the UK since 1996 were born between 2016 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 2,011th in England and Wales.
Messiah in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #2,087 |
| 2024 | 15 | #1,745 |
| 2023 | 19 | #1,454 |
| 2022 | 16 | #1,639 |
| 2021 | 18 | #1,481 |
| 2020 | 8 | #2,562 |
| 2019 | 8 | #2,633 |
| 2018 | 14 | #1,803 |
| 2017 | 18 | #1,490 |
| 2016 | 5 | #3,655 |
| 2015 | 7 | #2,855 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 4 | #4,008 |
| 2012 | 4 | #4,147 |
| 2011 | 5 | #3,446 |
| 2010 | 3 | #4,865 |
| 2009 | 3 | #4,691 |
| 2008 | 3 | #4,615 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 4 | #3,522 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 5 | #2,691 |
How popular is Messiah in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 207th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 1,666 about 1 in 1,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 12% in five years
- Same name in a class
- 1.4% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 1,666 boys in the US were named Messiah, making it the 207th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 190th. Its busiest year was 2021, with 2,231 boys. It first appears in the records in 1973. 9 girls were also named Messiah in 2025 (10,104th for girls).
It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 4 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Messiah than any year since 2015.
Half of all the boys named Messiah in the US since 1880 were born between 2015 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, under 1% of the babies named Messiah in the US were girls.
Messiah in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,666 | #207 |
| 2024 | 1,744 | #203 |
| 2023 | 1,916 | #189 |
| 2022 | 2,024 | #186 |
| 2021 | 2,231 | #172 |
| 2020 | 2,036 | #190 |
| 2019 | 2,037 | #193 |
| 2018 | 2,003 | #203 |
| 2017 | 1,987 | #198 |
| 2016 | 1,794 | #217 |
| 2015 | 1,516 | #243 |
| 2014 | 1,188 | #299 |
| 2013 | 974 | #334 |
| 2012 | 769 | #388 |
| 2011 | 369 | #635 |
| 2010 | 371 | #647 |
| 2009 | 369 | #663 |
| 2008 | 337 | #699 |
| 2007 | 322 | #718 |
| 2006 | 256 | #799 |
| 2005 | 198 | #904 |
| 2004 | 136 | #1,151 |
| 2003 | 118 | #1,229 |
| 2002 | 105 | #1,285 |
| 2001 | 99 | #1,312 |
| 2000 | 109 | #1,226 |
| 1999 | 94 | #1,291 |
| 1998 | 44 | #2,091 |
| 1997 | 30 | #2,609 |
| 1996 | 24 | #3,016 |
| 1995 | 30 | #2,495 |
| 1994 | 14 | #4,284 |
| 1993 | 21 | #3,135 |
| 1992 | 22 | #2,993 |
| 1991 | 12 | #4,468 |
| 1990 | 6 | #7,171 |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 11 | #4,157 |
| 1987 | 6 | #6,083 |
| 1986 | 5 | #6,715 |
| 1985 | 9 | #4,328 |
| 1984 | 6 | #5,557 |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 5 | #6,260 |
| 1980 | 10 | #3,837 |
| 1979 | 5 | #6,054 |
| 1978 | 5 | #5,769 |
| 1977 | 6 | #5,121 |
| 1976 | 6 | #4,933 |
| 1975 | 6 | #4,795 |
| 1974 | 8 | #3,835 |
| 1973 | 5 | #5,099 |
Names like Messiah
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Musa, Muhammad, Ibrahim, Matteo, Mustafa, Abdullah, Zakariya, Elijah, Josiah, Noah, Azariah, Ismail
Other spellings of Messiah
Names related to Messiah
More Hebrew names
Isabella, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Jude, Ezra, Benjamin, Isaac, Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Samuel, Elias, Mateo, Elsie
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Messiah: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/messiah, updated 20 October 2026.