Nabila
A feminine Arabic name meaning noble, esteemed, or outstanding.
Name Census estimates that about 731 living Americans carry the first name Nabila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nabila today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nabila births was 2021 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nabila. 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 Nabila with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
731
~ 1 in 468,884 Americans
Peak year
2021
29 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,545
Tracked since 1977
Census
Nabila in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,323 people with the first name Nabila, which placed it at #6,786 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
#6,786
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,323 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
42.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nabila
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nabila is White at 42.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (38.1%) and Black (7.4%). 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 Nabila 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 Nabila at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White42.1% · 979
- Asian and Pacific Islander38.1% · 886
- Black or African American7.4% · 173
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 169
- Two or more races4.9% · 113
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Nabila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nabila 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 191 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nabila remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nabila 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 Nabila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nabilas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, California, Minnesota recorded the most babies named Nabila, while Texas, Minnesota, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nabila
The name Nabila has its roots in the Arabic language and culture, originating from the word "Nabil," meaning noble or distinguished. It is believed to have been in use since the early days of Islam, around the 7th century CE.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Nabila is found in historical records from the Abbasid Caliphate, a prominent Islamic empire that ruled from the 8th to the 13th century. During this period, the name was associated with individuals from noble families or those with high social standing.
In Islamic tradition, the name Nabila is not explicitly mentioned in religious scriptures such as the Quran or the Hadith. However, its meaning and connotation align with the values and teachings of Islam, which emphasize nobility of character and moral excellence.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Nabila. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Nabila bint Al-Hasan, a renowned scholar and poet who lived during the 9th century CE in the city of Baghdad. She was celebrated for her literary contributions and her passion for knowledge.
Another prominent figure was Nabila Al-Jazariyya, a 12th-century Sufi mystic and scholar from the city of Jazira, present-day Turkey. She was known for her wisdom and spiritual teachings, and her writings on Sufism continue to be studied by scholars today.
In the realm of art and culture, Nabila Iskandar, an Egyptian painter and sculptor born in 1928, gained recognition for her vibrant and expressive works that captured the essence of Egyptian life and traditions.
The name Nabila also graced the stage with Nabila Ebrahimi, an Afghan actress and filmmaker born in 1962. She is renowned for her contributions to the Afghan film industry and her advocacy for women's rights and empowerment.
More recently, Nabila Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian author and businesswoman born in 1958, made headlines for her successful business ventures and her involvement in philanthropic endeavors.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have carried the name Nabila, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human civilization.
People
Nabila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nabila 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
Nabila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nabila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 731 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nabila 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 468,884 US residents.
Is Nabila a common name?
We classify Nabila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 747 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nabila most popular?
The single biggest year for Nabila was 2021, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nabila is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nabila in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,323 people with the name Nabila, or 0.77 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,786 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 Nabila 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 Nabila?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nabila appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,328 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Nabila?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nabila is White at 42.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (38.1%) and Black (7.4%). 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 Nabila most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nabila in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.1% (979 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 Nabila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nabila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nabila 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 Nabila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nabila 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 Nabila 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 have the name Nabila?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Nabila on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.