Nadya
A feminine Russian diminutive of the Greek name Nadia, meaning "hope".
Name Census estimates that about 2,526 living Americans carry the first name Nadya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nadya today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nadya births was 2006 (115 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nadya. 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.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 135,691 Americans
Peak year
2006
115 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,973
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Nadya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nadya from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 951 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nadya 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 Nadya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nadyas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Nadya, while Wisconsin, Washington, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 63 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nadya
The name Nadya is a Russian feminine given name derived from the Greek name Nadia, which itself comes from the name Nadezhda, meaning "hope" or "faith." Nadya is a diminutive or pet form of Nadezhda, a name that has been popular in Slavic cultures for centuries.
The name Nadezhda has its origins in the ancient Greek word "elpis," which translates to "hope" or "expectation." It was likely introduced to the Slavic regions through the spread of Christianity and the adoption of Greek biblical names. Over time, various diminutive forms of the name emerged, including Nadya, which became a commonly used name in its own right.
Historically, the name Nadya has been associated with several notable figures. In the late 19th century, Nadya Suslova was a prominent Russian revolutionary and feminist activist who played a significant role in the Narodnaya Volya (People's Will) movement. Nadya Rusheva, born in 1952, is a celebrated Russian actress known for her roles in numerous films and theater productions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nadya dates back to the 18th century when Nadya Durova, a Russian cavalry maiden, famously served in the Russian cavalry during the Napoleonic Wars disguised as a male soldier. Her memoir, "The Calvary Maiden," published in 1836, chronicles her remarkable life and adventures.
Another notable figure bearing the name Nadya is Nadya Krupskaya, born in 1869, who was a Russian revolutionary and the wife of Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution. Krupskaya played a crucial role in shaping Soviet education policies and establishing the country's library system.
In the realm of literature, Nadya Khvoshchinskaya, born in 1824, was a prominent Russian writer and activist who advocated for women's rights and education. Her literary works, including novels and short stories, explored themes of social injustice and the plight of women in 19th-century Russian society.
While these are just a few examples, the name Nadya has been borne by many influential and remarkable individuals throughout history, reflecting its deep roots in Russian and Slavic cultures and its association with hope, faith, and perseverance.
People
Nadya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nadya 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
Nadya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nadya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,526 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nadya 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 135,691 US residents.
Is Nadya a common name?
We classify Nadya as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,625 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nadya most popular?
The single biggest year for Nadya was 2006, when 115 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nadya is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nadya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nadya 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.
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.