Neda
A Persian feminine name meaning "voice" or "calling".
Name Census estimates that about 1,559 living Americans carry the first name Neda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Neda today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Neda births was 1987 (48 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Neda. 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 Neda with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 219,855 Americans
Peak year
1987
48 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,894
Tracked since 1889
Census
Neda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,087 people with the first name Neda, which placed it at #5,524 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
#5,524
National first-name rank
People counted
3.1K
3,087 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neda is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Neda 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 Neda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.1% · 2,412
- Two or more races8.0% · 247
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.2% · 221
- Black or African American3.6% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 83
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 14
Popularity
Neda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Neda from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 347 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neda 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 Neda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nedas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Neda, while Florida, Texas, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 59 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Neda
The name Neda has its origins in the Persian language and is believed to have derived from the ancient Persian word "naida," which means "voice" or "call." The name can be traced back to the ancient Persian civilization that flourished in the region now known as Iran, dating back to around the 6th century BCE.
In ancient Persian literature and poetry, the name Neda is often associated with the concept of beauty, grace, and elegance. It is mentioned in several works of classical Persian literature, such as the Shahnameh, the epic poem written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Neda can be found in the writings of the Persian philosopher and poet Rumi, who lived during the 13th century. In his poetic works, Rumi often referred to Neda as a symbol of divine love and spiritual awakening.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Neda. One of the most famous was Neda Agha-Soltan (1982-2009), an Iranian philosophy student who was tragically killed during the post-election protests in Iran in 2009. Her death, captured on video, became a powerful symbol of the struggle for freedom and democracy in Iran.
Another notable figure was Neda Anjoman (1918-2005), an Iranian poet and writer who was known for her works that explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition. Her poetry collections, such as "The Goddess of Youth," are widely celebrated in the Persian literary canon.
In the field of arts and culture, Neda Arazi (1936-2020) was a renowned Iranian singer and actress who gained popularity for her performances in Persian classical music and her roles in several Iranian films during the 1960s and 1970s.
Neda Hassanpour (born 1991) is a contemporary Iranian chess player who has achieved significant success in international tournaments, becoming a Woman Grandmaster in 2016 and representing Iran in numerous chess Olympiads.
Lastly, Neda Agha-Soltan (1982-2009) was an Iranian student and philosopher whose tragic death during the 2009 Iranian election protests sparked international outrage and became a symbol of the fight for democracy and human rights in Iran.
People
Neda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Neda 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
Neda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Neda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,559 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Neda 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 219,855 US residents.
Is Neda a common name?
We classify Neda as "Rare". It ranks above 92.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,174 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Neda most popular?
The single biggest year for Neda was 1987, when 48 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Neda is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Neda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,087 people with the name Neda, or 1.02 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,524 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 Neda 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 Neda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Neda appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,088 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Neda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neda is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Neda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Neda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.1% (2,412 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 Neda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Neda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Neda 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 Neda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Neda 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 Neda 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 Neda?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.