Nansi
A feminine name originating from Spanish variations of the name "Anne".
Name Census estimates that about 157 living Americans carry the first name Nansi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nansi today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nansi births was 1986 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nansi. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nansi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
157
~ 1 in 2,183,149 Americans
Peak year
1986
18 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2009 SSA rank
#19,345
Tracked since 1947
Census
Nansi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 358 people with the first name Nansi, which placed it at #26,164 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#26,164
National first-name rank
People counted
358
358 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
49.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nansi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nansi is Hispanic at 49.4%. The next largest groups are White (40.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Nansi described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Nansi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino49.4% · 177
- White40.5% · 145
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 16
- Black or African American3.1% · 11
- Two or more races2.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Nansi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nansi from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 56 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nansi 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 Nansi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nansis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nansi
The name Nansi is believed to have originated from the Indonesian language, where it is a feminine form of the name Nanang. The name Nanang is derived from the Sanskrit word "Ananda," which means "bliss" or "joy." This suggests that the name Nansi may have been used to represent a joyful or blissful girl or woman.
The earliest recorded use of the name Nansi can be traced back to the 16th century in the Indonesian archipelago, particularly in the regions of Java and Sumatra. During this period, the name was prevalent among the local population, although it was not widely known beyond the region.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Nansi can be found in the Javanese epic poem "Serat Centhini," written in the early 19th century. The poem mentions a character named Nansi, who is described as a beautiful and virtuous woman.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Nansi. One of the earliest recorded was Nansi Bagus Kusuma (1850-1920), a Javanese princess and prominent figure in the struggle for Indonesian independence against Dutch colonial rule.
Another notable Nansi was Nansi Groeneveldt (1915-2005), a Dutch-Indonesian writer and activist who fought for the rights of women and indigenous people in Indonesia during the 20th century.
In the field of arts and literature, Nansi Ayu Utami (born 1968) is a renowned Indonesian novelist and poet, known for her works exploring feminist themes and social issues.
The name Nansi also gained recognition in the world of sports with Nansi Pangaribuan (born 1983), an Indonesian badminton player who won multiple international tournaments and represented her country at the Olympics.
Lastly, Nansi Dhata (born 1992) is a contemporary Indonesian singer and songwriter who has achieved success in the Indonesian music industry, known for her unique vocal style and socially conscious lyrics.
While the name Nansi is not as common globally as some other names, it holds a significant cultural and historical significance in Indonesia, where it has been used for centuries and continues to be a popular choice for baby names.
People
Nansi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nansi 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
Nansi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nansi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 157 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nansi 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 2,183,149 US residents.
Is Nansi a common name?
We classify Nansi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 167 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nansi most popular?
The single biggest year for Nansi was 1986, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nansi is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nansi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 358 people with the name Nansi, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,164 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Nansi in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Nansi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nansi appears almost entirely female. Of the 350 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Nansi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nansi is Hispanic at 49.4%. The next largest groups are White (40.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Nansi most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Nansi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.4% (177 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Nansi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nansi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nansi 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 Nansi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nansi 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 Nansi 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.
How many people have Nansi as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Nansi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.