Negus
King or ruler in areas where Amharic is spoken.
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Negus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Negus today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Negus births was 2007 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Negus. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Negus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2007
6 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2007 SSA rank
#11,926
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Negus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Negus from the 1990s through to the 2000s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 6 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
Negus 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 Negus 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 Negus
The name Negus has its origins in the Semitic languages of the Horn of Africa, particularly in the Ge'ez language spoken in ancient Ethiopia and Eritrea. The name is derived from the Ge'ez word "Negus," which means "king" or "ruler." This term was used to refer to the monarchs of the ancient Aksumite Empire, which dominated the region from approximately the 1st century AD to the 7th century AD.
The earliest recorded use of the name Negus can be traced back to the Aksumite kings who ruled over the powerful empire centered in modern-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. One of the most famous Aksumite kings was Negus Ezana, who reigned in the 4th century AD and is credited with introducing Christianity to the region. The name Negus was also used by subsequent rulers of the Ethiopian Empire, which emerged as a dominant power in the region after the decline of the Aksumite Empire.
Throughout the centuries, the name Negus has been associated with various historical figures and rulers in the Horn of Africa. One notable example is Negus Menelik II, who was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913. He is remembered for his successful efforts to maintain Ethiopia's independence during the Scramble for Africa by European colonial powers.
Another famous figure with the name Negus was Negus Tafari Makonnen, who later took the throne name Haile Selassie I and served as the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He was a prominent figure in the Pan-African movement and is revered as a messiah by the Rastafarian religious movement.
In the early 20th century, the name Negus also gained recognition in the Western world due to the rise of interest in Ethiopian culture and history. One notable figure was Negus Negasta, an Ethiopian prince who served as a diplomat and cultural ambassador in Europe and the United States in the early 1900s.
While the name Negus has its roots in the ancient Semitic languages of the Horn of Africa, it has also been adopted and used by individuals from various cultures and backgrounds around the world, particularly those with an interest in or connection to African history and culture.
People
Negus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Negus 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
Negus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Negus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Negus 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Negus a common name?
We classify Negus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Negus most popular?
The single biggest year for Negus was 2007, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Negus is about 22 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 Negus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Negus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Negus 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 Negus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Negus 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 Negus 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 have the name Negus?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.