Nashon
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "little serpent" or "snake".
Name Census estimates that about 394 living Americans carry the first name Nashon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nashon today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nashon births was 2004 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nashon. 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
394
~ 1 in 869,935 Americans
Peak year
2004
23 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2020 SSA rank
#10,265
Tracked since 1975
Census
Nashon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 391 people with the first name Nashon, which placed it at #24,576 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
#24,576
National first-name rank
People counted
391
391 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nashon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nashon is Black at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.2%) and White (4.3%). 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 Nashon 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 Nashon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.0% · 309
- Two or more races8.2% · 32
- White4.3% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.6% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 7
Popularity
Nashon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nashon from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 160 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
Nashon 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 Nashon 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 Nashon
The name Nashon has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture. It is derived from the Hebrew word "Nachshon," which means "foreteller" or "diviner." The name is often associated with the biblical figure Nahshon, who was a prince of the tribe of Judah during the Exodus and a descendant of Perez, the son of Judah.
The name Nashon is first mentioned in the Book of Numbers, one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. In Numbers 1:7, Nahshon is listed as the leader of the tribe of Judah during the census of the Israelites in the wilderness. He is also mentioned in various other passages, such as Numbers 2:3 and Numbers 7:12, where he is described as the leader who offered sacrifices on behalf of his tribe during the dedication of the Tabernacle.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Nashon was Nahshon ben Amminadab, the prince of the tribe of Judah who lived during the time of the Exodus. He is considered a prominent figure in Jewish history and is revered for his leadership and devotion to God.
In later centuries, the name Nashon appeared in various historical records and texts. One notable individual was Nashon ben Zadok, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 11th century in Spain. He was a renowned rabbi and author who wrote commentaries on the Talmud and other Jewish texts.
Another famous person with the name Nashon was Nashon ben Asher, a 13th-century Jewish poet and philosopher from Spain. He was known for his works on Jewish theology and ethics, as well as his poetic writings.
In the 16th century, Nashon de Rivera was a prominent Jewish physician and scholar in Portugal. He was forced to convert to Christianity during the Inquisition but continued to practice medicine and contribute to the field of science.
Moving to more modern times, Nashon Owino was a Kenyan politician and activist who served as a member of the Kenyan Parliament in the 1960s. He was a vocal advocate for human rights and fought against colonial rule in Kenya.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Nashon. While the name may have evolved in its spelling and pronunciation across different cultures and languages, its roots can be traced back to the Hebrew language and the biblical figure Nahshon, who was a leader and symbol of faith and devotion.
People
Nashon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nashon 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
Nashon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nashon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 394 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nashon 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 869,935 US residents.
Is Nashon a common name?
We classify Nashon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 402 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nashon most popular?
The single biggest year for Nashon was 2004, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nashon is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nashon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 391 people with the name Nashon, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,576 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 Nashon 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 Nashon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nashon leans strongly male. 357 people counted with this name were male (92.7%), compared with 28 female bearers (7.3%). 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 Nashon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nashon is Black at 79.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (8.2%) and White (4.3%). 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 Nashon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nashon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.0% (309 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 Nashon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nashon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nashon in the SSA data are male. 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 Nashon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nashon 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 Nashon 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 the name Nashon?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Nashon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.