Neah
Of Arabic origin meaning "gift from God" or "blessing from God".
Name Census estimates that about 540 living Americans carry the first name Neah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Neah today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Neah births was 2006 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Neah. 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
540
~ 1 in 634,730 Americans
Peak year
2006
30 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,780
Tracked since 1980
Popularity
Neah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Neah from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 226 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Neah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neah 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 Neah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Neahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Neah
The name Neah is believed to have originated from the ancient Sumerian language, which was spoken in the region of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around the 3rd millennium BC. It is thought to be derived from the Sumerian word "ne'ah," which means "bright" or "radiant."
In ancient Sumerian mythology, Neah was the name of a minor deity associated with the sun and light. This name was often given to children as a symbol of hope and positivity, with the belief that it would bring them good fortune and a bright future.
The earliest recorded use of the name Neah dates back to around 2500 BC, where it was found inscribed on clay tablets and stone carvings in various Sumerian cities, such as Uruk and Nippur. Some of these ancient inscriptions were religious texts or records of important events, suggesting that the name held significance in Sumerian culture.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Neah. One of the earliest was Neah of Nippur, a Sumerian priestess who lived around 2300 BC and was known for her wisdom and leadership in religious ceremonies.
In the 6th century BC, there was Neah of Babylon, a renowned astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of celestial bodies and the development of the Babylonian calendar.
During the medieval period, Neah al-Khwarizmi, an influential Persian scholar born in 780 AD, was renowned for his works in mathematics, astronomy, and geography. He is credited with introducing the concept of algebra and developing algorithms that are still used today.
In the 13th century, Neah Ibn al-Baitar, an Andalusian botanist and pharmacist, authored one of the most comprehensive works on medicinal plants and their uses, titled "Kitab al-Jami' li-Mufradat al-Adwiya wa-l-Aghdhiya" (The Comprehensive Book on Simple Drugs and Foods).
More recently, in the 20th century, Neah Taubenfeld (1917-2008) was a prominent Israeli artist known for her vibrant abstract expressionist paintings and her contributions to the development of modern art in Israel.
While the name Neah may not be as common today as it was in ancient times, its rich history and connections to light, knowledge, and creativity have made it a unique and meaningful choice for parents seeking a name with cultural significance.
People
Neah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Neah 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
Neah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Neah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 540 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Neah 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 634,730 US residents.
Is Neah a common name?
We classify Neah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 547 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Neah most popular?
The single biggest year for Neah was 2006, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Neah is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Neah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Neah 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.
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.