girls' name ★ peaked 2000

Nia

Meaning Nia is a given name which appears in many cultures Gender Girl Rank 2025 #702 Trend ↓ Falling 30%

Nia is a given name which appears in many cultures.

Rank 2025
#702
among girls · ↓30 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
403
named Nia · -6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 3,988
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2000
1,033 babies
All-time total
25,432
#918 all-time among girls
First recorded
1951
in Social Security records

Nia popularity over time

25,432 babies have been named Nia since 1951, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s 19 – 19 2 – #5,012
1960s 85 – 85 9 +347% #2,817
1970s 788 – 788 79 +827% #674
1980s 1,198 5 1,203 120 +53% #942
1990s 5,283 5 5,288 529 +340% #330
2000s 8,571 – 8,571 857 +62% #307
2010s 6,546 – 6,546 655 -24% #438
2020s (to 2025) 2,932 – 2,932 489 -25% #495

Where Nia is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 381 0.24 outside top 500
2027 362 0.23 outside top 500
2028 348 0.22 outside top 500
2029 336 0.21 outside top 500
2030 326 0.20 outside top 500

Where Nia is most popular

Girls named Nia per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.285 per 1,000. Strongest in Connecticut, Maryland, and Delaware.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Nia born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Connecticut 35 0.602 +111%
Maryland 58 0.547 +92%
Delaware 6 0.529 +85%
Louisiana 46 0.526 +84%
District of Columbia 6 0.506 +77%
New Jersey 91 0.504 +77%
New York 196 0.495 +74%
Massachusetts 58 0.480 +68%
Virginia 81 0.475 +67%
Georgia 104 0.458 +61%
Illinois 94 0.411 +44%
Florida 175 0.409 +43%
Washington 59 0.408 +43%
North Carolina 90 0.395 +39%
Arizona 49 0.349 +22%
California 286 0.340 +19%
Pennsylvania 80 0.338 +19%
Michigan 54 0.296 ≈ national
Texas 238 0.296 ≈ national
South Carolina 26 0.289 ≈ national
Tennessee 43 0.271 -5%
Alabama 25 0.266 -7%
Nevada 11 0.237 -17%
Kentucky 20 0.234 -18%
Missouri 28 0.232 -19%
Ohio 48 0.202 -29%
Wisconsin 20 0.194 -32%
Minnesota 19 0.176 -38%
Indiana 22 0.157 -45%
Oregon 10 0.154 -46%
Colorado 12 0.108 -62%
Mississippi 5 0.107 -63%
Arkansas 5 0.095 -67%
Kansas 5 0.087 -70%
Iowa 5 0.086 -70%
Oklahoma 5 0.068 -76%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Nia

Nia is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #702 in 2025 with 403 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1951, 25,432 American babies have been named Nia. Its peak came in 2000, when 1,033 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Nia stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Nia?

The median living Nia is about 20 years old; half are between 11 and 27. An estimated 25 thousand people named Nia are alive in the United States today.

median 20 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Nia year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 403 #702 – –
2024 431 #672 – –
2023 460 #637 – –
2022 497 #603 – –
2021 523 #580 – –
2020 618 #495 – –
2019 629 #500 – –
2018 659 #473 – –
2017 632 #495 – –
2016 736 #438 – –
2015 718 #442 – –
2014 654 #481 – –
2013 595 #506 – –
2012 675 #464 – –
2011 604 #492 – –
2010 644 #470 – –
2009 636 #483 – –
2008 681 #466 – –
2007 816 #401 – –
2006 853 #381 – –
2005 782 #402 – –
2004 891 #356 – –
2003 893 #346 – –
2002 961 #320 – –
2001 1,025 #310 – –
2000 1,033 #307 – –
1995 495 #496 – –
1990 229 #862 – –
1985 153 #1,001 – –
1980 117 #1,159 – –
1975 104 #1,123 – –
1970 19 #3,397 – –
1965 13 #3,680 – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Nia

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Nia Long Nia Long American actress (born 1970) Contemporary
  2. 2 Nia Jax Nia Jax Australian-American professional wrestler (born 1984) Contemporary
  3. 3 Nia Vardalos Nia Vardalos Canadian-Greek actress and screenwriter (born 1962) Contemporary
  4. 4 Nia Peeples Nia Peeples American singer, actress, and television host b. 1961 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Nia Ali Nia Ali American track and field athlete b. 1988 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Niša Saveljić Montenegrin footballer (born 1970) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Nia, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Nia?

The median living Nia is about 20 years old. Half of all living Nias are between 11 and 27 years old.

How many people named Nia are alive today?

An estimated 25 thousand people named Nia are alive in the United States, based on 25,432 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Nia mean?

Nia is a given name which appears in many cultures.

How popular is the name Nia in 2025?

Nia ranked #702 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 403 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Nia?

25,432 babies have been named Nia in the United States since 1951, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Nia most popular?

Nia peaked in 2000, when 1,033 newborns received the name.

Is Nia a boy or girl name?

Nia is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Nia rising or falling?

Nia is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Nia become more popular?

Nia is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 326 girls named Nia in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Nia?

Well-known people named Nia include Nia Long (actor), Nia Jax (wrestler), Nia Vardalos (actor).

Names like Nia

Names that sound and feel close to Nia: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Nia with similar names → More names starting with N →