Naiara
A feminine name of Basque origin meaning "shining light" or "ray of light".
Name Census estimates that about 504 living Americans carry the first name Naiara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Naiara today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Naiara births was 2023 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Naiara. 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
504
~ 1 in 680,068 Americans
Peak year
2023
42 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,338
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Naiara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Naiara from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 234 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Naiara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Naiara 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 Naiara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Naiaras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Florida, New York recorded the most babies named Naiara, while Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Naiara
The name Naiara is believed to have its origins in the Basque language spoken in the Basque Country, a region straddling parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. The Basque language is a language isolate, meaning it is not known to be directly related to any other living language.
Naiara is a Basque feminine name derived from the Basque words "naia" meaning "wish" or "desire" and "ara" meaning "towards" or "direction." Hence, the name Naiara can be interpreted to mean "towards a wish" or "towards a desire."
While the exact origins of the name are uncertain, it is thought to have been used in the Basque region for centuries. However, there are no known historical references to the name Naiara in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records from that region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Naiara dates back to the late 20th century. Naiara Egozkue Zubiria (born 1977) is a Spanish former professional tennis player from the Basque Country who achieved a career-high singles ranking of No. 43 in the world in 2001.
Another notable individual with the name Naiara is Naiara Muñoz (born 1989), a Spanish actress and model known for her roles in television series such as "Velvet" and "El Secreto de Puente Viejo."
Naiara Arrizabalaga (born 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Spanish club Athletic Bilbao and the Spanish national team.
Naiara Fernández (born 1992) is a Spanish actress and singer who has appeared in various television series and films, including "Velvet Colección" and "Élite."
Naiara Egiluz (born 1989) is a Spanish professional golfer who has competed on the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour.
People
Naiara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Naiara 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
Naiara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Naiara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 504 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Naiara 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 680,068 US residents.
Is Naiara a common name?
We classify Naiara as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 508 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Naiara most popular?
The single biggest year for Naiara was 2023, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Naiara is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Naiara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Naiara 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.