Nehemias
Nehemias is a masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "comfort of the Lord".
Name Census estimates that about 1,760 living Americans carry the first name Nehemias. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nehemias today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nehemias births was 2024 (103 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nehemias. 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
- • Nehemias is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 194,747 Americans
Peak year
2024
103 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,645
Tracked since 1968
Popularity
Nehemias: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nehemias from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 781 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nehemias remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nehemias 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 Nehemias during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nehemias' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Nehemias, while Washington, Virginia, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 58 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nehemias
The name Nehemias is derived from the Hebrew name Nehemiah, which means "comforted by God" or "the Lord comforts." It has its roots in ancient Judaic culture and is first mentioned in the biblical Book of Nehemiah, written around the 5th century BCE.
Nehemiah was a Jewish leader and cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes I. He played a crucial role in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity. The Book of Nehemiah recounts his efforts and leadership in this endeavor, making him a prominent figure in Jewish history.
The name Nehemias is a variant spelling found in some translations of the Bible, particularly in the Latin Vulgate version. It was also used in various European languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Nehemias can be found in the writings of the 4th-century Christian scholar Jerome, who used this spelling in his Latin translation of the Bible.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Nehemias or its variants. One such individual was Nehemias Grew (1641-1712), an English botanist and microscopist who made significant contributions to the study of plant anatomy and physiology.
Another prominent figure was Nehemias Trevitt (c. 1660-1698), an English navigator and explorer who sailed with William Dampier and was involved in the first English trading expedition to the western coast of Australia.
In the realm of literature, Nehemias Hiëronimus Longinus (1663-1744) was a Dutch philologist and scholar who wrote extensively on classical Greek and Latin texts.
The name Nehemias also appears in religious history, such as Nehemias de Sépulveda (c. 1490-1540), a Spanish Franciscan friar who served as a missionary in Mexico and wrote about the indigenous cultures of the region.
Lastly, Nehemias Trübner (1818-1884) was a German-born British bookseller and publisher who played a significant role in the dissemination of literature and scholarly works in the 19th century.
People
Nehemias + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nehemias 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
Nehemias: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nehemias?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,760 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nehemias 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 194,747 US residents.
Is Nehemias a common name?
We classify Nehemias as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,780 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nehemias most popular?
The single biggest year for Nehemias was 2024, when 103 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nehemias is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nehemias a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nehemias 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.
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.