Nami
A Japanese feminine name meaning "wave" or "ocean wave".
Name Census estimates that about 1,020 living Americans carry the first name Nami. It is a predominantly female name (98.7% of registrations). The average person named Nami today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nami births was 2024 (151 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nami. 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 Nami with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Nami is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 336,034 Americans
Peak year
2024
151 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,496
Tracked since 1983
Census
Nami in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 990 people with the first name Nami, which placed it at #12,541 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
#12,541
National first-name rank
People counted
990
990 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
53.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nami
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nami is Asian/Pacific Islander at 53.5%. The next largest groups are White (13.5%) and Two or More Races (13.3%). 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 Nami 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 Nami at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander53.5% · 530
- White13.5% · 134
- Two or more races13.3% · 132
- Hispanic or Latino10.8% · 107
- Black or African American8.2% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Nami
Nami leans heavily female at 98.7% of total registrations, but 13 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nami as a male name
- Ranked #11,865 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (7 births)
Nami as a female name
- Ranked #1,496 in 2024
- 145 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (145 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nami leans strongly female. 919 people counted with this name were female (91.6%), compared with 84 male bearers (8.4%).
Popularity
Nami: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nami from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 567 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nami 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 Nami during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Namis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Nami, while Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 26 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nami
Nami is a name with origins that can be traced back to various cultures and languages. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name comes from Japan, where it is a feminine name derived from the Japanese word "nami," meaning "wave." This name likely originated during the ancient times of Japan, reflecting the island nation's close connection to the ocean and its appreciation for natural elements.
In Japanese mythology, Nami is also the name of a kami, or Shinto deity, associated with waves and the sea. This connection to the divine further solidifies the name's reverence in Japanese culture and its symbolic ties to the power and beauty of the ocean.
Beyond Japan, the name Nami has also been used in various forms across different cultures and languages. In Arabic, the name "Nami" can mean "growth" or "development," while in Persian, it can translate to "letter" or "message." These diverse meanings reflect the name's versatility and its ability to resonate with different cultural contexts.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nami. One of the earliest recorded examples is Nami Nari, a Japanese sculptor and artist who lived during the Heian period (794-1185 CE). Her intricate wood carvings and Buddhist statues are celebrated as masterpieces of Japanese art.
Another prominent figure was Nami Iwata (1897-1945), a Japanese activist and social reformer who fought for women's rights and labor reforms in the early 20th century. Her advocacy played a crucial role in improving working conditions and advancing gender equality in Japan.
In the realm of literature, Nami Nami-no Mikoto is a legendary figure from the ancient Japanese text Kojiki, one of the oldest chronicles of Japanese history and mythology. She is depicted as a kami, or deity, associated with the sea and waves.
Moving to more recent times, Nami Matsushima (born 1973) is a Japanese actress and singer who has gained popularity for her roles in television dramas and films. Her talent and versatility have made her a celebrated figure in Japanese entertainment.
Finally, Nami Tamaki (born 1976) is a Japanese singer and actress who rose to fame as a member of the popular J-pop group Speed. Her successful solo career and philanthropic efforts have earned her recognition and admiration both in Japan and internationally.
These examples showcase the diverse backgrounds and achievements of individuals who have carried the name Nami throughout history, highlighting its enduring presence and cultural significance across various regions and time periods.
People
Nami + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nami 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
Nami: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nami?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,020 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nami 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 336,034 US residents.
Is Nami a common name?
We classify Nami as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,029 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nami most popular?
The single biggest year for Nami was 2024, when 151 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nami is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nami in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 990 people with the name Nami, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,541 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 Nami 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 Nami?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nami leans strongly female. 919 people counted with this name were female (91.6%), compared with 84 male bearers (8.4%). 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 Nami?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nami is Asian/Pacific Islander at 53.5%. The next largest groups are White (13.5%) and Two or More Races (13.3%). 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 Nami most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nami in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.5% (530 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 Nami in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nami a female name?
Yes, 98.7% of people registered as Nami 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 Nami still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nami 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 Nami 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 common is the name Nami?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Nami at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.