# Mekhi (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/mekhi/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /mɛˈkaɪ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 12,467 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 12,354 / 113 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 303, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

An African-American coinage, popularized by the actor Mekhi Phifer.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 14 | 7,104 |
| 2000 | 6 | 14,384 |
| 2001 | 9 | 10,718 |
| 2002 | 8 | 11,816 |
| 2003 | 11 | 9,484 |
| 2004 | 14 | 8,095 |
| 2005 | 7 | 13,987 |
| 2008 | 8 | 13,395 |
| 2009 | 8 | 13,276 |
| 2010 | 6 | 16,297 |
| 2011 | 5 | 18,614 |
| 2012 | 6 | 16,229 |
| 2013 | 6 | 15,894 |
| 2014 | 5 | 18,328 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 544 | 484 |
| 2012 | 529 | 503 |
| 2013 | 521 | 513 |
| 2014 | 454 | 599 |
| 2015 | 423 | 632 |
| 2016 | 428 | 627 |
| 2017 | 474 | 575 |
| 2018 | 459 | 598 |
| 2019 | 329 | 733 |
| 2020 | 300 | 782 |
| 2021 | 272 | 861 |
| 2022 | 239 | 950 |
| 2023 | 223 | 989 |
| 2024 | 218 | 1,025 |
| 2025 | 176 | 1,174 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 18 | 1,344 |
| 2011 | 10 | 2,039 |
| 2012 | 12 | 1,852 |
| 2013 | 18 | 1,339 |
| 2014 | 10 | 2,079 |
| 2015 | 10 | 2,150 |
| 2016 | 10 | 2,175 |
| 2017 | 8 | 2,512 |
| 2018 | 11 | 1,991 |
| 2019 | 4 | 3,937 |
| 2020 | 9 | 2,228 |
| 2021 | 6 | 3,017 |
| 2022 | 5 | 3,449 |
| 2023 | 4 | 4,107 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,137 |

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.