Ndia
A feminine name of African origin meaning "prosperous journey".
Name Census estimates that about 258 living Americans carry the first name Ndia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ndia today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ndia births was 2000 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ndia. 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.
People living today
258
~ 1 in 1,328,505 Americans
Peak year
2000
28 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2021 SSA rank
#16,970
Tracked since 1990
Popularity
Ndia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ndia from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 157 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
Ndia 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 Ndia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ndias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ndia
The name Ndia has its origins in the ancient Sanskrit language, dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE in the Indian subcontinent. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "nadi," which means river or stream. This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with people living near rivers or waterbodies.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ndia can be found in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, which was composed between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE. In this epic, Ndia is mentioned as the name of a minor character, a female attendant to one of the main protagonists.
During the Maurya Empire, which ruled over much of the Indian subcontinent from 322 BCE to 185 BCE, the name Ndia was relatively common among the lower classes and peasantry. Historical records from this period indicate that it was a popular name for girls born near the banks of the Indus River and its tributaries.
In the 5th century CE, a Buddhist monk and scholar named Ndia Shramana gained significant recognition for his translations of Sanskrit texts into Chinese. His work played a crucial role in the spread of Buddhist teachings throughout East Asia.
Another notable figure with the name Ndia was Ndia Devi, a 12th-century Hindu mystic and poet from the Rajput kingdom of Mewar in present-day Rajasthan, India. Her devotional compositions, known as bhajans, were widely celebrated and continue to be recited by devotees to this day.
In the 16th century, Ndia Begum, a powerful and influential woman from the Mughal Empire, left a lasting impact on the cultural and architectural landscape of India. She commissioned the construction of several notable buildings, including the Ndia Masjid in Agra, which remains a significant architectural marvel.
During the 19th century, Ndia Kaviraj was a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet from Bengal, who contributed significantly to the preservation and promotion of classical Indian literature and philosophy.
The name Ndia has been used across various regions and cultures in the Indian subcontinent, reflecting its deep-rooted connections to the Sanskrit language and the rich cultural heritage of the region.
People
Ndia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ndia 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
Ndia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ndia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 258 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ndia 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 1,328,505 US residents.
Is Ndia a common name?
We classify Ndia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 264 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ndia most popular?
The single biggest year for Ndia was 2000, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ndia is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Ndia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ndia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ndia 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 Ndia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ndia 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 Ndia 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Ndia?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.