Nefeli
A feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "cloud".
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the first name Nefeli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nefeli today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nefeli births was 2023 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nefeli. 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 Nefeli with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
117
~ 1 in 2,929,524 Americans
Peak year
2023
15 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,816
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Nefeli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nefeli from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 58 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nefeli 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 Nefeli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nefelis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nefeli
The name Nefeli is of Greek origin, derived from the ancient Greek word "nephele," which means "cloud." It is believed to have been in use since ancient times in Greece.
Nefeli was the name of a character in Greek mythology, a beautiful cloud nymph who was the second wife of Athamas, the king of Orchomenus. She was also the mother of Phrixus and Helle, who were rescued from sacrifice by a golden ram sent by Nephele herself.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nefeli comes from the ancient Greek epic poem, the Argonautica, written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. In this epic, the character Nefeli plays a significant role in the story of Jason and the Argonauts.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Nefeli. One of the earliest recorded was Nefeli of Lesbos, a Greek lyric poetess who lived in the 6th century BC. She was renowned for her beautiful and evocative poems about love and nature.
Another famous Nefeli was Nefeli Valvi (1889-1973), a Greek actress and theater director who played a significant role in the development of modern Greek theater. She is considered one of the most influential figures in Greek dramatic arts of the 20th century.
In the realm of literature, Nefeli was the name of a character in the novel "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera, published in 1984. The character Nefeli symbolized the fleeting nature of love and relationships in the novel.
Nefeli Tsipra (1915-1994) was a Greek painter and sculptor whose works were heavily influenced by the Greek landscape and mythology. She is renowned for her unique style that blended elements of ancient Greek art with modern techniques.
Another notable figure was Nefeli Valvi-Papamichael (1900-1957), a Greek actress and theatre director who was a pioneer of modern Greek theatre. She founded the Theatro Technis (Art Theatre) in Athens, which played a crucial role in promoting contemporary Greek plays and performances.
People
Nefeli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nefeli 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
Nefeli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nefeli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 117 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nefeli 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 2,929,524 US residents.
Is Nefeli a common name?
We classify Nefeli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 118 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nefeli most popular?
The single biggest year for Nefeli was 2023, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nefeli is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Nefeli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nefeli a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nefeli 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 Nefeli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nefeli 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 Nefeli 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Nefeli?
Find out how many people have the name Nefeli on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.