Nayef
A name of Arabic origin meaning "sublime, lofty, or elevated".
Name Census estimates that about 103 living Americans carry the first name Nayef. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nayef today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nayef births was 2018 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nayef. 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 Nayef with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
103
~ 1 in 3,327,712 Americans
Peak year
2018
11 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2023 SSA rank
#8,713
Tracked since 2008
Census
Nayef in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 290 people with the first name Nayef, which placed it at #30,183 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
#30,183
National first-name rank
People counted
290
290 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nayef
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nayef is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Nayef 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 Nayef at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 238
- Two or more races6.9% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 12
- Black or African American1.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Popularity
Nayef: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nayef from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 66 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nayef remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nayef 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 Nayef during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nayefs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nayef
The name Nayef has its origins in the Arabic language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Arabic root word "na'af," which means "to be high, elevated, or lofty." The name carries connotations of nobility, dignity, and excellence.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nayef can be found in the classic Arabic literature, particularly in the pre-Islamic poetry and prose works. The name was often used to describe individuals of high standing, noble character, or those who exhibited exceptional qualities.
In the Islamic tradition, the name Nayef is mentioned in some historical texts and records, although it is not directly referenced in the Quran or the Hadith (the sayings of Prophet Muhammad). However, the concept of nobility and excellence embodied by the name aligns with the Islamic principles of virtuous living and moral uprightness.
Among the notable historical figures who bore the name Nayef, one can mention Nayef Al-Hazmi, a famous Arabian poet who lived in the 8th century CE. His poetic works were widely celebrated for their eloquence and deep insights into human nature.
Another prominent figure was Nayef Al-Bakri, a renowned Islamic scholar and historian from the 11th century CE. He authored several books on the history of the Islamic world and made significant contributions to the preservation of Arabic literature and culture.
In the 13th century CE, Nayef Al-Ansari was a respected jurist and legal scholar who played a crucial role in the development of Islamic jurisprudence. His works on Islamic law and its interpretation were widely studied and referenced by scholars for generations.
During the Ottoman Empire, Nayef Pasha was a prominent military commander and statesman who served as the governor of various provinces in the 16th century CE. He was known for his strategic military leadership and his efforts in expanding and consolidating Ottoman territories.
More recently, in the 20th century, Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud was a prominent member of the Saudi royal family. He served as the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 2011 until his death in 2012, and was known for his contributions to national security and counterterrorism efforts.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who carried the name Nayef throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields such as literature, scholarship, law, military, and governance. The name continues to be widely used in the Arabic-speaking world, carrying the legacy of its rich cultural heritage and the ideals of nobility and excellence it represents.
People
Nayef + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nayef 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
Nayef: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nayef?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 103 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nayef 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 3,327,712 US residents.
Is Nayef a common name?
We classify Nayef as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 104 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nayef most popular?
The single biggest year for Nayef was 2018, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nayef is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nayef in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 290 people with the name Nayef, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,183 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 Nayef 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 Nayef?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nayef appears almost entirely male. Of the 285 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Nayef?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nayef is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.9%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Nayef most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nayef in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (238 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 Nayef in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nayef a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nayef 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 Nayef still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nayef 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 Nayef 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 share the name Nayef?
Want to know how many people have the name Nayef? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.