Najah
A feminine Arabic name meaning "success" or "prosperity".
Name Census estimates that about 1,828 living Americans carry the first name Najah. It is a predominantly female name (98.2% of registrations). The average person named Najah today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Najah births was 1999 (101 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Najah. 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
1.8K
~ 1 in 187,502 Americans
Peak year
1999
101 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2007 SSA rank
#7,129
Tracked since 1969
Gender
Gender distribution for Najah
Najah leans heavily female at 98.2% of total registrations, but 34 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Najah as a male name
- Ranked #13,780 in 2007
- 5 male births in 2007
- Peak: 2004 (12 births)
Najah as a female name
- Ranked #7,129 in 2024
- 16 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1999 (101 births)
Popularity
Najah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Najah from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 679 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Najah 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 Najah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Najahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Najah, while Wisconsin, Minnesota, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 46 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Najah
The name Najah has its origins in Arabic, derived from the root word "najaha," which means "success" or "achievement." It is a name that has been used predominantly in the Middle East and among Muslim communities worldwide.
The earliest recorded use of the name Najah dates back to the 7th century, during the time of the Islamic Golden Age. It was a period when Arabic culture and civilization flourished, and many notable individuals bore this name.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Najah is found in historical texts and biographies of Najah ibn Amir al-Hanafi, a prominent Islamic scholar and jurist who lived in the 8th century. He was known for his expertise in Islamic jurisprudence and his contributions to the development of the Hanafi school of thought.
Another notable figure with the name Najah was Najah al-Baghdadi, a renowned Arabic poet and literary critic who lived in the 10th century. He was widely acclaimed for his mastery of the Arabic language and his ability to craft intricate and thought-provoking poetry.
In the 12th century, Najah al-Dimashqi was a distinguished Islamic philosopher and scientist who made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and optics. His works were widely studied and influenced the development of these disciplines in the Islamic world.
Moving forward, in the 16th century, Najah al-Ghazzawi was a renowned Sufi mystic and scholar from present-day Syria. He was known for his spiritual teachings and his profound understanding of Islamic mysticism, which influenced many seekers of divine knowledge.
In more recent history, Najah Al-Attar was a prominent Syrian writer and intellectual who lived in the 20th century. Born in 1887 and passing away in 1982, she was a trailblazer for women's education and rights in the Arab world, and her literary works and activism left a lasting impact on the region.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Najah throughout history, reflecting its deep roots and cultural significance within the Arabic-speaking world and Islamic traditions.
People
Najah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Najah 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
Najah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Najah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,828 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Najah 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 187,502 US residents.
Is Najah a common name?
We classify Najah as "Rare". It ranks above 93.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,884 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Najah most popular?
The single biggest year for Najah was 1999, when 101 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Najah is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Najah a female name?
Yes, 98.2% of people registered as Najah 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.