Nayla
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "successful" or "attaining heights."
Name Census estimates that about 3,317 living Americans carry the first name Nayla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nayla today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nayla births was 2019 (184 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nayla. 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 Nayla with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Nayla is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.3K
~ 1 in 103,333 Americans
Peak year
2019
184 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,474
Tracked since 1979
Census
Nayla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,517 people with the first name Nayla, which placed it at #6,389 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
#6,389
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,517 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
54.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nayla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nayla is Hispanic at 54.4%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and White (15.5%). 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 Nayla 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 Nayla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino54.4% · 1,369
- Black or African American20.5% · 517
- White15.5% · 391
- Two or more races4.7% · 118
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 101
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 21
Popularity
Nayla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nayla from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,457 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nayla remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nayla 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 Nayla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Naylas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Nayla, while Washington, Nevada, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 109 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nayla
The name Nayla is of Arabic origin and is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "nai'l," which means "attainment" or "achievement." The name is predominantly found in Arabic-speaking regions of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as among Arabic communities around the world.
The earliest recorded use of the name Nayla dates back to the 7th century CE, during the early Islamic era. It is believed that the name gained popularity among Arab families as a way to express their hopes and aspirations for their daughters to achieve great things in life.
One of the earliest known references to the name Nayla can be found in the works of Arabic literature and poetry from the 8th and 9th centuries CE. Some historians suggest that the name may have been inspired by the Arabic word "nai'la," which means "a bright star" or "a shining light."
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Nayla. One of the earliest recorded examples is Nayla al-Andalusiyyah (1023-1090 CE), a renowned Andalusian poet and philosopher from medieval Spain. Her works were widely celebrated for their beauty and depth.
Another notable figure is Nayla Moushir (1900-1979), an Egyptian actress and singer who was one of the pioneers of Arabic musical theater. She was known for her powerful voice and captivating stage presence, and her contributions to the Egyptian arts and culture are widely recognized.
In the 20th century, Nayla Comair-Obeid (1923-2011) was a prominent Lebanese writer and journalist who played a significant role in raising awareness about women's issues and advocating for gender equality in the Arab world.
Nayla Tuwayni (1943-2020) was a Syrian artist and sculptor whose works celebrated the resilience and strength of women. Her sculptures can be found in public spaces and museums around the world, and she is considered one of the most influential Arab artists of her time.
More recently, Nayla Al Khaja (born 1976) is a renowned Emirati film director and producer who has been instrumental in promoting the growth of the film industry in the United Arab Emirates. Her works have been showcased at numerous international film festivals and have received critical acclaim.
People
Nayla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nayla 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
Nayla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nayla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,317 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nayla 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 103,333 US residents.
Is Nayla a common name?
We classify Nayla as "Rare". It ranks above 95.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,353 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nayla most popular?
The single biggest year for Nayla was 2019, when 184 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nayla is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nayla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,517 people with the name Nayla, or 0.83 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,389 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 Nayla 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 Nayla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nayla appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,510 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Nayla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nayla is Hispanic at 54.4%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and White (15.5%). 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 Nayla most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Nayla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.4% (1,369 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 Nayla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nayla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nayla 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 Nayla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nayla 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 Nayla 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 are called Nayla?
You can see how many Americans are named Nayla on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.