Nayelli
An indigenous feminine name of Nahuatl origin symbolizing "truth" or "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 1,421 living Americans carry the first name Nayelli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nayelli today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nayelli births was 2001 (115 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nayelli. 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.
Key insights
- • Nayelli is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 241,206 Americans
Peak year
2001
115 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,525
Tracked since 1988
Census
Nayelli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,297 people with the first name Nayelli, which placed it at #10,338 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
#10,338
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,297 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
91.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nayelli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nayelli is Hispanic at 91.9%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Black (2.4%). 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 Nayelli 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 Nayelli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.9% · 1,192
- White2.8% · 36
- Black or African American2.4% · 31
- Two or more races1.8% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 5
Popularity
Nayelli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nayelli 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 613 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Nayelli remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nayelli 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 Nayelli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nayellis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Nayelli, while New Jersey, Georgia, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 95 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nayelli
The name Nayelli is of Nahuatl origin, a language spoken by the Aztec people of Mexico. The Nahuatl language has its roots dating back to the 7th century and was widely spoken in central Mexico during the time of the Aztec Empire.
Nayelli is derived from the Nahuatl word "nelli," meaning "truth" or "true." It is a compound name, with the prefix "na" suggesting a connection to the Nahuatl language and culture. The name may have been given to children as a symbol of honesty and truthfulness, reflecting the values held by the Aztec civilization.
While there are no specific historical references to the name Nayelli in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its Nahuatl roots suggest that it was likely in use among the Aztec people during the pre-Columbian era in Mexico.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Nayelli dates back to the late 16th century. In 1592, a woman named Nayelli was born in the city of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, now known as Mexico City.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nayelli. Nayelli Flores (1949-2005) was a Mexican actress and singer, known for her work in telenovelas and films. Nayelli Rangel (born 1979) is a Mexican television host and writer, who has hosted several popular shows.
Nayelli Armas (born 1989) is a Mexican beauty queen and model who won the Miss Universe Mexico pageant in 2013. Nayelli Guadalupe Reyes Batres (born 1987) is a Guatemalan track and field athlete who competed in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
Nayelli Vidal (born 1979) is a Mexican painter and artist, known for her vibrant and colorful works depicting Mexican culture and traditions.
People
Nayelli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nayelli 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
Nayelli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nayelli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,421 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nayelli 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 241,206 US residents.
Is Nayelli a common name?
We classify Nayelli as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,441 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nayelli most popular?
The single biggest year for Nayelli was 2001, when 115 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nayelli is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nayelli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,297 people with the name Nayelli, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,338 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 Nayelli 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 Nayelli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nayelli appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,296 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Nayelli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nayelli is Hispanic at 91.9%. The next largest groups are White (2.8%) and Black (2.4%). 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 Nayelli most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Nayelli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (1,192 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 Nayelli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nayelli a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nayelli 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 Nayelli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nayelli 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 Nayelli 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 Nayelli as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.