Neela
An Indian feminine name derived from Sanskrit meaning "blue" or "dark blue".
Name Census estimates that about 1,307 living Americans carry the first name Neela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Neela today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Neela births was 2007 (103 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Neela. 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 Neela with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Neela 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 262,245 Americans
Peak year
2007
103 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,032
Tracked since 1972
Census
Neela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,622 people with the first name Neela, which placed it at #8,810 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
#8,810
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,622 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
41.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neela is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.9%. The next largest groups are White (22.9%) and Two or More Races (16.7%). 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 Neela 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 Neela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander41.9% · 679
- White22.9% · 372
- Two or more races16.7% · 271
- Hispanic or Latino10.7% · 173
- Black or African American6.3% · 102
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 25
Popularity
Neela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Neela from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 523 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Neela remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neela 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 Neela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Neelas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Neela, while Ohio, Minnesota, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Neela
The name Neela finds its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the vehicle for Hindu scriptures and cultural expressions in the Indian subcontinent. Neela is derived from the Sanskrit word "nila," which translates to "blue" or "dark blue." This association with the color blue is believed to be rooted in the natural world, as the name may have been inspired by the deep hues of the sky or the vibrant shades of certain gemstones.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Neela can be traced back to various Hindu texts and scriptures, where it was often used as a descriptor for deities or celestial beings associated with the color blue. In the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics, there are references to the "Neela Sarovara," a sacred blue lake revered for its spiritual significance.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Neela. One of the earliest recorded figures was Neela Devi (1032-1092 CE), a powerful ruler of the Chahamana dynasty in present-day Rajasthan, India. She was known for her military prowess and her efforts to expand the kingdom's territories.
Another significant figure was Neela Desai (1925-2009), an Indian freedom fighter and social activist who played a crucial role in the country's independence movement. She was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and worked tirelessly to promote women's rights and social justice.
In the realm of arts and culture, Neela Vaswani (born 1972) is a renowned Indian-American author and educator. Her works, which often explore themes of identity, cultural duality, and the immigrant experience, have garnered critical acclaim and numerous awards.
The name Neela has also been embraced in various forms of entertainment. Neela Debnath (born 1961) is a popular Bengali actress and dancer who has graced both the silver screen and the stage with her performances, earning numerous accolades throughout her career.
Additionally, Neela Satyanarayan (1925-2018) was an accomplished Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She dedicated her life to preserving and promoting the rich traditions of Indian dance forms, earning numerous honors and awards for her contributions to the art form.
While the name Neela has its roots in the ancient Sanskrit language, it has transcended geographical and cultural boundaries, resonating with individuals worldwide for its unique meaning and historical significance.
People
Neela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Neela 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
Neela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Neela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,307 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Neela 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 262,245 US residents.
Is Neela a common name?
We classify Neela as "Rare". It ranks above 91.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,326 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Neela most popular?
The single biggest year for Neela was 2007, when 103 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Neela 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 Neela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,622 people with the name Neela, or 0.54 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,810 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 Neela 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 Neela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Neela appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,625 people counted with this name, 99.3% 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 Neela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neela is Asian/Pacific Islander at 41.9%. The next largest groups are White (22.9%) and Two or More Races (16.7%). 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 Neela most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Neela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.9% (679 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 Neela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Neela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Neela 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 Neela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Neela 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 Neela 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 Neela?
You can see how many Americans are named Neela on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.