Neita
A feminine given name derived from the Scandinavian Netta, meaning "pure".
Name Census estimates that about 166 living Americans carry the first name Neita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Neita today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Neita births was 1934 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Neita. 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
- • The typical person named Neita is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Neitas were born before 1959.
People living today
166
~ 1 in 2,064,785 Americans
Peak year
1934
19 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1970 SSA rank
#8,896
Tracked since 1889
Census
Neita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 310 people with the first name Neita, which placed it at #28,807 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
#28,807
National first-name rank
People counted
310
310 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neita is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Neita 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 Neita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.8% · 238
- Black or African American8.4% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 16
- Two or more races4.8% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 2
Popularity
Neita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Neita from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 138 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neita 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 Neita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Neitas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Neita
The name Neita is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, tracing back to ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "niti," which means "guidance" or "moral conduct." The name gained popularity in the Indian subcontinent during the Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Neita can be found in the Upanishads, a collection of ancient Hindu philosophical texts. In the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, there is a mention of a sage named Neitra, which is a variant spelling of Neita. This sage was renowned for his wisdom and teachings on the nature of consciousness and the universe.
In the epic Sanskrit poem Mahabharata, composed between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE, there is a character named Neitra, who was a skilled archer and warrior. This historical reference suggests that the name Neita was commonly used among the warrior class in ancient India.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Neita. One of the most famous was Neita Ambaa (1876-1942), an Indian social reformer and activist who fought for women's rights and education. She established several schools and organizations aimed at empowering women in India.
Another notable Neita was Neita Karnik (1925-2008), an Indian classical dancer and choreographer. She was instrumental in reviving and popularizing the Kathak dance form and received numerous awards and accolades for her contributions to the art.
In the field of literature, Neita Devidayal (1908-1980) was a renowned Hindi poet and writer. Her poetic works explored themes of spirituality, love, and the human condition, earning her critical acclaim and a prominent place in Hindi literature.
Neita Majumdar (1933-2018) was a distinguished Indian physicist who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics. She was the first woman to become a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honors.
Lastly, Neita Mehta (1915-2002) was an Indian freedom fighter and political activist. She actively participated in the Indian independence movement and was imprisoned multiple times for her involvement in the non-violent resistance against British rule.
While the name Neita has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and has been embraced by individuals worldwide, carrying with it the essence of guidance, wisdom, and moral conduct.
People
Neita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Neita 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
Neita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Neita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 166 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Neita 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 2,064,785 US residents.
Is Neita a common name?
We classify Neita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 635 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Neita most popular?
The single biggest year for Neita was 1934, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Neita is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Neita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 310 people with the name Neita, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,807 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 Neita 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 Neita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Neita leans strongly female. 296 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 10 male bearers (3.3%). 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 Neita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neita is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Hispanic (5.2%). 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 Neita most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Neita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.8% (238 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 Neita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Neita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Neita 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 Neita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Neita 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 Neita 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 called Neita?
You can see how many Americans are named Neita on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.