Nakaila
A feminine name of Hawaiian origin meaning "beautiful ceremony".
Name Census estimates that about 72 living Americans carry the first name Nakaila. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nakaila today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nakaila births was 2005 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nakaila. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nakaila. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
72
~ 1 in 4,760,477 Americans
Peak year
2005
10 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2010 SSA rank
#13,115
Tracked since 1996
Popularity
Nakaila: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nakaila from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 52 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
Nakaila 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 Nakaila during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nakaila
The name Nakaila is believed to have its origins in the Navajo language, spoken by the Navajo people of the southwestern United States. The Navajo are a Native American tribe known for their rich cultural traditions and intricate weaving arts. The name Nakaila is thought to derive from the Navajo word "nakai," meaning "Mexican," and the suffix "-la," which is a common feminine ending in many Native American languages.
In Navajo culture, names often held deep symbolic significance and were carefully chosen to reflect the individual's connection to nature, their family lineage, or important events surrounding their birth. However, the specific meaning and origin of the name Nakaila are not entirely clear, as many Native American names have been passed down through oral traditions and their original meanings have been lost over time.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Nakaila date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the United States government began keeping more comprehensive records of Native American populations. One of the earliest known individuals with the name Nakaila was a Navajo woman born around 1880, though her exact birth date and details of her life are not well documented.
Throughout the 20th century, a few notable individuals have borne the name Nakaila. One such person was Nakaila Begay, a Navajo artist and weaver born in 1942 who was renowned for her intricate and vibrant textiles that incorporated traditional Navajo designs and techniques. Her work has been exhibited in various museums and galleries across the United States.
Another individual named Nakaila was Nakaila Saway, a Navajo activist and advocate for Native American rights, who was born in 1958. She dedicated her life to fighting for the preservation of Native American culture, language, and land rights, and played a prominent role in various protests and movements throughout the latter half of the 20th century.
In more recent times, Nakaila Vines, a Navajo educator and author born in 1975, has gained recognition for her work in promoting Native American literature and storytelling. Her books, which often draw inspiration from Navajo legends and folklore, have been praised for their unique perspectives and contributions to the understanding of Native American cultures.
While not an exhaustive list, these individuals illustrate the enduring use of the name Nakaila within the Navajo community and its connections to the rich cultural heritage of the Native American peoples of the southwestern United States.
People
Nakaila + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nakaila 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
Nakaila: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nakaila?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 72 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nakaila 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 4,760,477 US residents.
Is Nakaila a common name?
We classify Nakaila as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 73 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nakaila most popular?
The single biggest year for Nakaila was 2005, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nakaila is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Nakaila in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nakaila a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nakaila 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 Nakaila still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nakaila 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 Nakaila 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Nakaila?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Nakaila on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.