Nahom
A masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "consolation" or "comforter".
Name Census estimates that about 939 living Americans carry the first name Nahom. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nahom today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nahom births was 2009 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nahom. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nahom with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
939
~ 1 in 365,021 Americans
Peak year
2009
53 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,646
Tracked since 1993
Census
Nahom in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,258 people with the first name Nahom, which placed it at #10,538 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,538
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,258 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
95.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nahom
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nahom is Black at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.6%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Nahom described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Nahom at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American95.2% · 1,198
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 20
- Two or more races1.5% · 19
- White1.3% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Nahom: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nahom from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 420 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nahom remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nahom by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Nahom during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nahoms live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Washington, Virginia recorded the most babies named Nahom, while Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nahom
The name Nahom is believed to have its origins in ancient Semitic languages, particularly Hebrew and Arabic. Its etymology can be traced back to the root words "nacham" or "naham," which signify comfort, solace, or consolation. This suggests that the name Nahom may have been bestowed upon individuals with the intention of conveying a sense of peace and reassurance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nahom can be found in the Book of Mormon, an ancient religious scripture revered by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the text, Nahom is mentioned as a location where the family of Lehi, a prophet from Jerusalem, buried one of their members named Ishmael. This event is believed to have occurred around 600 BCE, placing the name Nahom within the context of ancient Near Eastern cultures.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Nahom. One such figure was Nahom Goodman (1828-1891), an American inventor and businessman known for his contributions to the development of the mechanical pencil. His innovative designs revolutionized the writing instrument industry and paved the way for more efficient and user-friendly pencils.
Another prominent figure named Nahom was Nahom Syrkin (1868-1924), a Jewish Zionist leader and theorist from Ukraine. He played a crucial role in shaping the ideological foundations of Labor Zionism and advocated for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine through socialist principles and organized labor.
In the realm of literature, Nahom Bialick (1873-1934) was a renowned Hebrew poet and writer who is widely regarded as the national poet of the Jewish people. His works, such as "Al HaShchita" (On the Slaughter) and "HaMatmid" (The Talmud Student), explored themes of Jewish identity, tradition, and the struggle for cultural renewal.
Another notable figure was Nahom Arieli (1898-1978), an Israeli military leader and politician who served as the Chief of Staff of the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary organization in British Mandate Palestine. He played a pivotal role in the defense of Jewish communities during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and later served as a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament).
Lastly, Nahom Zelmanovich (1931-2008) was a Soviet-born Israeli artist and sculptor renowned for his abstract and modernist works. His sculptures, often crafted from metal and reflecting themes of movement and energy, can be found in public spaces and galleries across Israel and beyond.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Nahom throughout history, each contributing to various fields and leaving their mark on their respective societies and cultures.
People
Nahom + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nahom as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nahom: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nahom?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 939 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nahom going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 365,021 US residents.
Is Nahom a common name?
We classify Nahom as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 948 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nahom most popular?
The single biggest year for Nahom was 2009, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nahom is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nahom in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,258 people with the name Nahom, or 0.42 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,538 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Nahom in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Nahom?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nahom leans strongly male. 1,240 people counted with this name were male (99.0%), compared with 13 female bearers (1.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Nahom?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nahom is Black at 95.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.6%) and Two or More Races (1.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Nahom most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nahom in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.2% (1,198 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Nahom in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nahom a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nahom in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Nahom still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nahom in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Nahom can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Nahom?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Nahom, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.