Nasira
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "helper" or "victorious".
Name Census estimates that about 320 living Americans carry the first name Nasira. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nasira today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nasira births was 2016 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nasira. 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 Nasira with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
320
~ 1 in 1,071,107 Americans
Peak year
2016
26 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,348
Tracked since 1994
Census
Nasira in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 524 people with the first name Nasira, which placed it at #19,926 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
#19,926
National first-name rank
People counted
524
524 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
48.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nasira
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nasira is Asian/Pacific Islander at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Black (35.3%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Nasira 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 Nasira at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander48.3% · 253
- Black or African American35.3% · 185
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 32
- Two or more races5.3% · 28
- White4.4% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 3
Popularity
Nasira: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nasira from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 136 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Nasira remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nasira 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 Nasira during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nasiras live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nasira
The name Nasira is of Arabic origin and is derived from the root word "nasr," which means "victory" or "triumph." It is believed to have originated in the Middle East during the early days of Islam, around the 7th century.
Nasira was a relatively common name among Muslim communities, particularly in regions where Arabic was spoken or had significant cultural influence. The name carries a sense of strength, resilience, and success, making it a popular choice for parents.
In Islamic tradition, the name Nasira is often associated with the concept of divine victory and protection. It is mentioned in the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, where it is used to refer to followers of the faith who are granted victory by Allah.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Nasira dates back to the 8th century, when a prominent female scholar and poet by the name of Nasira bint Abi al-Khattab (born around 720 CE) gained recognition for her literary works and contributions to the field of Arabic literature.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Nasira. Among them is Nasira Ismail (1892-1952), an Egyptian feminist and activist who played a significant role in the women's rights movement in Egypt during the early 20th century.
Another prominent figure was Nasira Sharma (1916-1997), an Indian classical singer and musician from the Punjabi region, who was widely acclaimed for her contributions to the preservation and promotion of traditional Punjabi music.
In the realm of literature, Nasira Zubair (born 1957) is a renowned Pakistani writer and poet, known for her critically acclaimed works that explore themes of identity, gender, and societal issues.
Nasira Iqbal (born 1935) was a Pakistani lawyer and human rights activist who played a pivotal role in advocating for women's rights and legal reforms in Pakistan.
Nasira Begum (1916-1983) was a renowned Indian classical singer and musician from the Hindustani tradition, celebrated for her mastery of the khayal and thumri genres.
People
Nasira + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nasira 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
Nasira: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nasira?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 320 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nasira 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 1,071,107 US residents.
Is Nasira a common name?
We classify Nasira as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 324 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nasira most popular?
The single biggest year for Nasira was 2016, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nasira 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 Nasira in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 524 people with the name Nasira, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,926 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 Nasira 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 Nasira?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nasira appears almost entirely female. Of the 524 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Nasira?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nasira is Asian/Pacific Islander at 48.3%. The next largest groups are Black (35.3%) and Hispanic (6.1%). 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 Nasira most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nasira in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.3% (253 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 Nasira in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nasira a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nasira 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 Nasira still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nasira 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 Nasira 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 are named Nasira?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.