Neiko
An English variant of the Japanese masculine name Niko meaning "sunshine".
Name Census estimates that about 761 living Americans carry the first name Neiko. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Neiko today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Neiko births was 2020 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Neiko. 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 Neiko with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
761
~ 1 in 450,400 Americans
Peak year
2020
46 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,976
Tracked since 1988
Census
Neiko in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 531 people with the first name Neiko, which placed it at #19,755 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
#19,755
National first-name rank
People counted
531
531 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
33.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neiko
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neiko is Black at 33.7%. The next largest groups are White (23.7%) and Hispanic (20.5%). 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 Neiko 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 Neiko at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American33.7% · 179
- White23.7% · 126
- Hispanic or Latino20.5% · 109
- Two or more races16.0% · 85
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 10
Popularity
Neiko: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Neiko from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 259 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Neiko remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neiko 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 Neiko during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Neikos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, New York, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Neiko, while Texas, Pennsylvania, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Neiko
The given name Neiko is believed to have originated from the Japanese language, where it is a variation of the more common name "Neko," which means "cat" in Japanese. The name likely emerged during the Edo period (1603-1868) in Japan, when naming children after animals or nature elements was a popular practice.
In Japanese culture, cats have long been revered as symbols of good luck, prosperity, and protection. As such, the name Neiko may have been chosen for its auspicious connotations, with the hope that the child would embody the positive traits associated with felines, such as agility, curiosity, and independence.
While the name Neiko does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its root word "neko" can be found in various Japanese literary works and folk tales throughout history. One notable example is the famous Japanese folktale "The Boy Who Drew Cats," which features a charming cat character that brings good fortune to its owner.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Neiko can be traced back to the late 18th century, when a Japanese artist and ukiyo-e woodblock print maker named Neiko Tōshū (1776-1856) gained recognition for his depictions of kabuki actors and courtesans.
Another notable figure with the name Neiko was Neiko Takata (1906-1991), a Japanese-American artist and ceramicist who was active in the mid-20th century. Her work, which blended Japanese and American influences, was widely exhibited and is held in numerous museum collections.
In the world of sports, Neiko Wills (born 1984) is a former professional basketball player from the United States who played in several European leagues in the early 2000s.
Neiko Astudillo (born 1991) is a Venezuelan singer and songwriter known for his work in the Latin urban music genre. He has released several successful singles and albums since the late 2010s.
Lastly, Neiko Ingram (born 1993) is an American professional boxer who has competed in the lightweight division. He has held several regional titles and has been active in the sport since the early 2010s.
While these are just a few examples, the name Neiko has been borne by individuals from various backgrounds and professions throughout history, reflecting its enduring appeal and cultural significance.
People
Neiko + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Neiko 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
Neiko: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Neiko?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 761 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Neiko 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 450,400 US residents.
Is Neiko a common name?
We classify Neiko as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 771 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Neiko most popular?
The single biggest year for Neiko was 2020, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Neiko 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 Neiko in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 531 people with the name Neiko, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,755 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 Neiko 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 Neiko?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Neiko leans strongly male. 470 people counted with this name were male (89.4%), compared with 56 female bearers (10.6%). 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 Neiko?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neiko is Black at 33.7%. The next largest groups are White (23.7%) and Hispanic (20.5%). 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 Neiko most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Neiko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 33.7% (179 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 Neiko in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Neiko a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Neiko in the SSA data are male. 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 Neiko still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Neiko 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 Neiko 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 common is the name Neiko?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.