Nakaylah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "pure" or "immaculate".
Name Census estimates that about 54 living Americans carry the first name Nakaylah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nakaylah today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nakaylah births was 2010 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nakaylah. 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 Nakaylah. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
54
~ 1 in 6,347,303 Americans
Peak year
2010
13 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2016 SSA rank
#18,058
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Nakaylah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nakaylah from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 31 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Nakaylah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nakaylah 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 Nakaylah 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 Nakaylah
The name Nakaylah is of Arabic origin and dates back to the early Islamic era in the 7th century CE. It is derived from the Arabic root word "nakal," which means "to transfer" or "to change." The name is believed to have been given to children with the hope that they would grow up to be agents of positive change in society.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nakaylah can be found in a collection of Arabic poems from the 8th century CE, where it was used to describe a woman of great beauty and grace. The name was also mentioned in several historical accounts of the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled over much of the Middle East and parts of North Africa from the 8th to the 13th century CE.
Throughout the centuries, the name Nakaylah has been borne by several notable figures in the Islamic world. One such figure was Nakaylah bint al-Husayn, a prominent scholar and poet who lived in Baghdad during the 9th century CE. She was known for her mastery of the Arabic language and her contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence.
Another famous bearer of the name was Nakaylah al-Khwarizmi, a renowned mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 9th century CE. He is credited with introducing the concept of algebra and developing algorithms for solving complex mathematical equations, which laid the foundation for modern mathematics.
In the 12th century CE, Nakaylah al-Zahrawi was a pioneering surgeon and physician who made significant contributions to the field of medicine. She is regarded as one of the earliest practitioners of modern surgical techniques and is credited with introducing several innovative medical instruments.
During the Golden Age of Islam, the name Nakaylah was also borne by several influential women who played important roles in the cultural and intellectual life of the time. One such woman was Nakaylah bint al-Qadi, a renowned poet and literary scholar who lived in Cordoba, Spain, in the 11th century CE.
Another notable bearer of the name was Nakaylah al-Isfahani, a celebrated musician and composer who lived in Baghdad during the 10th century CE. She was renowned for her mastery of the oud, a traditional Middle Eastern lute, and her contributions to the development of Arabic music theory.
People
Nakaylah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nakaylah 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
Nakaylah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nakaylah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 54 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nakaylah 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 6,347,303 US residents.
Is Nakaylah a common name?
We classify Nakaylah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 55 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nakaylah most popular?
The single biggest year for Nakaylah was 2010, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nakaylah is about 18 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 Nakaylah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nakaylah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nakaylah 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 Nakaylah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nakaylah 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 Nakaylah 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 Nakaylah?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Nakaylah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.