Naz
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "delicate" or "slender".
Name Census estimates that about 162 living Americans carry the first name Naz. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 57.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Naz today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Naz births was 2019 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Naz. 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 Naz with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
162
~ 1 in 2,115,768 Americans
Peak year
2019
23 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,120
Tracked since 2001
Census
Naz in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 681 people with the first name Naz, which placed it at #16,519 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
#16,519
National first-name rank
People counted
681
681 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
41.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Naz
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Naz is White at 41.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.8%) and Black (14.2%). 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 Naz 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 Naz at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White41.3% · 281
- Asian and Pacific Islander33.8% · 230
- Black or African American14.2% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 46
- Two or more races3.7% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Naz
Naz is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 163 total registrations, 69 (42.3%) were male and 94 (57.7%) were female.
Naz as a male name
- Ranked #8,120 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (12 births)
Naz as a female name
- Ranked #8,474 in 2019
- 13 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2019 (13 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Naz on both sides of the split. Of the 678 people counted with this name, 191 were male (28.2%) and 487 were female (71.8%).
Popularity
Naz: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Naz 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 71 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Naz remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Naz 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 Naz 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 Naz
The name Naz has its origins in the Persian language, where it is derived from the word "Naz," which means "charm" or "grace." This name has been in use for centuries, with its roots tracing back to ancient Persia, which is now modern-day Iran.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Naz can be found in the Persian epic poem "Shahnameh," written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century. In this epic, Naz appears as a character name, suggesting its usage during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Naz. One such figure was Naz Parveen, a celebrated Urdu poet from the 18th century, whose works explored themes of love and mysticism. Born in 1690 in Delhi, India, she is remembered for her powerful and evocative poetry.
Another prominent figure was Naz Khialvi, a renowned Sufi poet from the 16th century hailing from Khialvi, a region in present-day Pakistan. His poetic works, infused with spiritual wisdom, have left a lasting impact on the literary traditions of the region.
In the realm of music, Naz Choudhury, a British singer-songwriter of Bangladeshi descent, gained recognition in the early 2000s for her fusion of traditional South Asian melodies with contemporary Western influences. Born in 1981, her unique style has garnered critical acclaim and a dedicated following.
The name Naz has also been associated with figures from the world of sports. Naz Bohanudin, a Kenyan cricketer who played for the national team in the 1990s, was born in 1972 and made significant contributions to the sport in his country.
Throughout its history, the name Naz has carried connotations of grace, charm, and elegance, reflecting its Persian roots. Its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods speaks to its timeless appeal and the lasting impact of those who have borne this name.
People
Naz + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Naz 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
Naz: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Naz?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 162 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Naz 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 2,115,768 US residents.
Is Naz a common name?
We classify Naz as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 163 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Naz most popular?
The single biggest year for Naz was 2019, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Naz is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Naz in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 681 people with the name Naz, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,519 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 Naz 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 Naz?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Naz on both sides of the split. Of the 678 people counted with this name, 191 were male (28.2%) and 487 were female (71.8%). 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 Naz?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Naz is White at 41.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (33.8%) and Black (14.2%). 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 Naz most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Naz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.3% (281 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 Naz in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Naz a female name?
Yes, 57.7% of people registered as Naz 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 Naz still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Naz 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 Naz 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 named Naz?
Want to know how many people share the name Naz? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.