Nakayla
A feminine name derived from the Hebrew elements meaning "innocent" and "garland".
Name Census estimates that about 1,785 living Americans carry the first name Nakayla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nakayla today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nakayla births was 2004 (118 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nakayla. 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.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 192,019 Americans
Peak year
2004
118 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,007
Tracked since 1988
Census
Nakayla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,399 people with the first name Nakayla, which placed it at #9,789 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
#9,789
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,399 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nakayla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nakayla is Black at 68.3%. The next largest groups are White (14.6%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Nakayla 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 Nakayla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.3% · 956
- White14.6% · 204
- Two or more races7.9% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 102
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 9
Popularity
Nakayla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nakayla from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 984 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nakayla 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 Nakayla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nakaylas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Georgia, North Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Nakayla, while New Jersey, Missouri, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nakayla
The name Nakayla is a modern invented name that does not have a definitive origin or etymology. It appears to be a combination of various sounds and syllables from different languages and cultures.
One possible source of inspiration for the name Nakayla could be the Japanese name Naoki, which means "straight tree" or "righteous tree." The "Na" syllable in Nakayla may have been derived from this Japanese name. However, the connection is tenuous and not firmly established.
Another potential influence on the name Nakayla could be the Native American word "nakala," which means "generous" or "kind" in some indigenous languages. This could explain the presence of the "ka" sound in the name, but again, the connection is speculative.
It is worth noting that the name Nakayla does not appear to have any significant historical references or mentions in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records. This is likely due to its modern and invented nature.
Despite its relatively recent origin, there have been a few notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Nakayla. One example is Nakayla Stevenson (born 1992), an American track and field athlete who competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.
Another individual with the name Nakayla is Nakayla Shimmins (born 1993), a Canadian actress and model known for her roles in television shows such as "The 100" and "Supernatural."
In the realm of literature, there is Nakayla Jennings (born 1985), an American author and poet who has published several collections of poetry and short stories.
Nakayla Mitchell (born 1987) is a British entrepreneur and business executive who founded a successful technology startup in London.
Lastly, Nakayla Ramirez (born 1998) is a Mexican-American artist and painter whose vibrant works have been featured in several galleries and exhibitions across the United States.
While the name Nakayla may lack a deep historical background, it has gained popularity in recent years and has been embraced by individuals from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds, each adding their unique story and significance to this modern moniker.
People
Nakayla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nakayla 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
Nakayla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nakayla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,785 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nakayla 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 192,019 US residents.
Is Nakayla a common name?
We classify Nakayla as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,814 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nakayla most popular?
The single biggest year for Nakayla was 2004, when 118 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nakayla is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nakayla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,399 people with the name Nakayla, or 0.46 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,789 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 Nakayla 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 Nakayla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nakayla appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,393 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Nakayla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nakayla is Black at 68.3%. The next largest groups are White (14.6%) and Two or More Races (7.9%). 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 Nakayla most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nakayla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.3% (956 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 Nakayla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nakayla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nakayla in the SSA data are female. 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 Nakayla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nakayla 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 Nakayla 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 share the name Nakayla?
You can see how many people have the name Nakayla on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.