Ndeye
A feminine Senegalese name translating to "Queen" or "Princess".
Name Census estimates that about 490 living Americans carry the first name Ndeye. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ndeye today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ndeye births was 2003 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ndeye. 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 Ndeye with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
490
~ 1 in 699,499 Americans
Peak year
2003
31 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,721
Tracked since 1993
Census
Ndeye in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,008 people with the first name Ndeye, which placed it at #12,372 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
#12,372
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,008 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
96.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ndeye
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ndeye is Black at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.5%) and White (0.8%). 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 Ndeye 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 Ndeye at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.7% · 975
- Two or more races1.5% · 15
- White0.8% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Ndeye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ndeye 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 240 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
Ndeye 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 Ndeye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ndeyes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ndeye
Ndeye is a feminine given name of West African origin, specifically from the Wolof people of Senegal and Gambia. It is derived from the Wolof word "ndey," which means "child" or "daughter." The name has been in use for centuries among the Wolof community.
In the Wolof culture, names often carry significant meanings and are carefully chosen to reflect the values, beliefs, and aspirations of the people. The name Ndeye is commonly given to girls as a symbol of their importance and value within the family and community.
The earliest recorded use of the name Ndeye can be traced back to the 13th century, during the reign of the Wolof Empire in present-day Senegal. Historical records from this period mention prominent figures bearing the name, although specific details are scarce.
One of the most notable historical figures with the name Ndeye is Ndeye Fatou Ndiaye, a Senegalese princess and diplomat who lived in the late 18th century. She played a crucial role in facilitating trade and diplomatic relations between the Wolof Kingdom and European powers during the colonial era.
Another significant figure is Ndeye Coumba Gueye, a Senegalese writer and activist who lived from 1928 to 2015. She was a pioneering voice for women's rights and education in Senegal and was awarded the prestigious Noma Award for Publishing in Africa in 1995.
In the realm of arts and culture, Ndeye Ndiaye Gueye (1922-2008) was a renowned Senegalese painter and sculptor. Her works celebrated Wolof traditions and spirituality, and she is widely regarded as one of the most influential African artists of the 20th century.
Ndeye Khady Ndiaye (1928-2008) was a celebrated Senegalese singer and griot (oral historian and storyteller). She played a significant role in preserving and promoting the rich musical heritage of the Wolof people, and her performances were highly revered throughout West Africa.
Lastly, Ndeye Fatou Fall (1914-1999) was a Senegalese educator and women's rights activist. She dedicated her life to improving access to education for girls and advocating for gender equality in Senegal. Her contributions were instrumental in shaping the country's educational system and empowering generations of Senegalese women.
People
Ndeye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ndeye 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
Ndeye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ndeye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 490 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ndeye 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 699,499 US residents.
Is Ndeye a common name?
We classify Ndeye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 497 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ndeye most popular?
The single biggest year for Ndeye was 2003, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ndeye is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ndeye in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,008 people with the name Ndeye, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,372 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 Ndeye 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 Ndeye?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ndeye appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,007 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Ndeye?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ndeye is Black at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.5%) and White (0.8%). 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 Ndeye most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Ndeye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (975 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 Ndeye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ndeye a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ndeye 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 Ndeye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ndeye 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 Ndeye 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 called Ndeye?
You can see how many people share the name Ndeye on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.