Nayeli
An Indigenous Mexican name meaning "that which is yearned for".
Name Census estimates that about 23,205 living Americans carry the first name Nayeli. It sits at #319 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nayeli today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nayeli births was 2001 (1,845 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nayeli. 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 Nayeli with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Nayeli is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
23K
~ 1 in 14,771 Americans
Peak year
2001
1,845 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2004 SSA rank
#319
Tracked since 1977
Census
Nayeli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 19,293 people with the first name Nayeli, which placed it at #1,638 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
#1,638
National first-name rank
People counted
19K
19,293 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
94.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nayeli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nayeli is Hispanic at 94.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.4%) and Black (1.6%). 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 Nayeli 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 Nayeli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.3% · 18,197
- White2.4% · 469
- Black or African American1.6% · 308
- Two or more races0.9% · 168
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 65
Gender
Gender distribution for Nayeli
Out of the 23,507 babies given the name Nayeli since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Nayeli as a male name
- Ranked #12,643 in 2004
- 5 male births in 2004
- Peak: 2002 (9 births)
Nayeli as a female name
- Ranked #319 in 2024
- 960 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2001 (1,845 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nayeli appears almost entirely female. Of the 19,291 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Nayeli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nayeli from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 9,310 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Nayeli remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nayeli 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 Nayeli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nayelis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Nayeli, while Mississippi, Louisiana, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 562 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nayeli
The name Nayeli finds its origins in the Nahuatl language, spoken by the Aztec people of ancient Mexico. It is derived from the Nahuatl words "nā-yeli," which translate to "I love." This suggests that the name Nayeli may have been given to express parental love and affection for a newborn child.
The Nahuatl language was prevalent in central Mexico during the pre-Columbian era, and it continues to be spoken by various indigenous communities in Mexico today. The name Nayeli likely emerged among these Nahuatl-speaking groups, although the exact time period of its origin is uncertain.
While there are no known ancient texts or religious scriptures that explicitly mention the name Nayeli, its Nahuatl roots suggest a connection to the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Aztec civilization.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Nayeli can be found in the writings of Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, a Spanish Franciscan missionary who lived in Mexico during the 16th century. In his work "Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España," Sahagún documented various aspects of Aztec culture, including names and their meanings.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nayeli. Nayeli Sarmiento (1948-2019) was a Mexican actress and singer who appeared in numerous telenovelas and films. Nayeli Rangel (born 1984) is a Mexican model and television host known for her work on various reality shows.
Nayeli Judith Vega Valero (born 1990) is a Mexican lawyer and politician who has served as a federal deputy in the Congress of Mexico. Nayeli Portillo (born 1987) is a Mexican professional boxer who has won several titles in the lightweight division.
Nayeli Ramos (born 1993) is a Honduran-American actress and model, best known for her roles in television series like "Jane the Virgin" and "Dynasty."
It is worth noting that while the name Nayeli has its roots in the Nahuatl language and Aztec culture, it has gained popularity beyond its place of origin and is now used in various Latin American countries and among Hispanic communities worldwide.
People
Nayeli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nayeli 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
Nayeli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nayeli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 23,205 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nayeli 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 14,771 US residents.
Is Nayeli a common name?
We classify Nayeli as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 23,507 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nayeli most popular?
The single biggest year for Nayeli was 2001, when 1,845 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nayeli is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nayeli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 19,293 people with the name Nayeli, or 6.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,638 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 Nayeli 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 Nayeli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nayeli appears almost entirely female. Of the 19,291 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Nayeli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nayeli is Hispanic at 94.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.4%) and Black (1.6%). 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 Nayeli most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Nayeli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.3% (18,197 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 Nayeli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nayeli a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Nayeli 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 Nayeli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nayeli 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 Nayeli 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 Nayeli?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.