Meshilem vs Mesiah
American parents have registered 507 Mesiahs since 1880, against 165 Meshilems. Mesiah is still ahead, with 24 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Meshilem Mesiah
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 26 years in which either name was published, Mesiah for 25 years and Meshilem for 1 year. The lead changed hands 2 times.
Side by side
| Meshilem | Mesiah | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 165 | 507 |
| Most in one year | 33 | 40 |
| Babies in 2025 | 11 | 24 |
| Estimated living today | 160 | 500 |
| Median age today | 6 | 8 |
| Peak year | 2016 | 2017 |
| Best rank | 3,358th boys | 2,951st boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 7,194th | 4,249th |
| First recorded | 2015 | 1999 |
| Girls / boys | 0 / 165 | 5 / 502 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Mesiahs alive today are over 8; half the Meshilems are over 6. That is 2 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Meshilem and Mesiah.