Niah
Of Native American origin meaning "free spirit" or "free woman".
Name Census estimates that about 1,692 living Americans carry the first name Niah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Niah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Niah births was 2013 (77 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Niah. 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 Niah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Niah 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
1.7K
~ 1 in 202,573 Americans
Peak year
2013
77 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,099
Tracked since 1982
Census
Niah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,496 people with the first name Niah, which placed it at #9,326 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
#9,326
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,496 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
35.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Niah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Niah is Black at 35.8%. The next largest groups are White (25.9%) and Hispanic (23.8%). 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 Niah 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 Niah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American35.8% · 536
- White25.9% · 387
- Hispanic or Latino23.8% · 356
- Two or more races8.6% · 128
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.6% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 20
Popularity
Niah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Niah 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 655 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Niah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Niah 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 Niah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Niahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Niah, while New Jersey, Ohio, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 71 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Niah
The name Niah finds its origins in the Arabic language, deriving from the word "Nayya," which translates to "intention" or "purpose." This ancient name has its roots in Islamic culture and can be traced back to the 7th century.
During the early days of Islam, the name Niah was bestowed upon individuals who displayed a strong sense of purpose and determination in their actions. It was believed that those who bore this name were destined for greatness and were guided by their unwavering intentions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Niah can be found in the writings of the renowned Islamic scholar and philosopher, Al-Ghazali, who lived during the 11th century. In his work, "The Revival of the Religious Sciences," he made reference to a scholar named Niah ibn Khalid, renowned for his profound knowledge and wisdom.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Niah. One such individual was Niah al-Andalusi, a 12th-century scholar and mathematician from the Iberian Peninsula, who made significant contributions to the field of algebra and geometry.
In the 14th century, Niah al-Qurashi was a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist from Damascus, renowned for his expertise in Islamic law and his extensive written works.
During the 16th century, Niah ibn Abi Bakr was a celebrated poet and writer from the Ottoman Empire, whose poetry was widely acclaimed for its eloquence and depth of emotion.
Another notable figure was Niah al-Misri, an 18th-century Egyptian scholar and historian, whose comprehensive records of the social and cultural aspects of his time provide invaluable insights into the lives of the people during that era.
Niah ibn Abdallah, born in 1802, was a respected Islamic scholar and theologian from Morocco, known for his contributions to the study of Islamic jurisprudence and his efforts in promoting education among the people.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Niah, each leaving an indelible mark on their respective fields and cultures.
People
Niah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Niah 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
Niah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Niah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,692 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Niah 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 202,573 US residents.
Is Niah a common name?
We classify Niah as "Rare". It ranks above 93% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,714 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Niah most popular?
The single biggest year for Niah was 2013, when 77 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Niah 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 Niah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,496 people with the name Niah, or 0.50 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,326 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 Niah 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 Niah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Niah leans strongly female. 1,409 people counted with this name were female (94.2%), compared with 87 male bearers (5.8%). 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 Niah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Niah is Black at 35.8%. The next largest groups are White (25.9%) and Hispanic (23.8%). 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 Niah most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Niah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.8% (536 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 Niah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Niah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Niah 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 Niah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Niah 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 Niah 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 Americans are named Niah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.