Nema
A feminine name from Arabic meaning "grace, blessing, boon".
Name Census estimates that about 185 living Americans carry the first name Nema. It is a predominantly female name (95.0% of registrations). The average person named Nema today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nema births was 2012 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nema. 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 Nema with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
185
~ 1 in 1,852,726 Americans
Peak year
2012
13 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
1994 SSA rank
#9,819
Tracked since 1904
Census
Nema in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 475 people with the first name Nema, which placed it at #21,400 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
#21,400
National first-name rank
People counted
475
475 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nema
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nema is White at 51.8%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.1%). 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 Nema 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 Nema at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.8% · 246
- Black or African American25.5% · 121
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.1% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 37
- Two or more races4.0% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Nema
Nema leans heavily female at 95.0% of total registrations, but 18 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nema as a male name
- Ranked #9,819 in 1994
- 5 male births in 1994
- Peak: 1982 (8 births)
Nema as a female name
- Ranked #13,041 in 2024
- 7 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (13 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nema leans strongly female. 392 people counted with this name were female (80.7%), compared with 94 male bearers (19.3%).
Popularity
Nema: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nema from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 80 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Nema remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nema 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 Nema 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 Nema
The name Nema has its origins in the Arabic language, where it is derived from the word "na'ima," meaning "peaceful" or "tranquil." This name can be traced back to the 7th century, during the rise of Islam in the Middle East.
Nema was a relatively common name among the Arab population during the medieval period, particularly in regions such as the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, and parts of the Levant. It was often given to children as a wish for them to lead a peaceful and serene life.
In Islamic tradition, the name Nema is not explicitly mentioned in religious texts such as the Quran or Hadith. However, its meaning aligns with the teachings of Islam, which emphasize the importance of inner peace and tranquility.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Nema was Nema al-Hadrami, a renowned Arab scholar who lived in the 9th century. He was known for his contributions to the fields of Islamic jurisprudence and theology.
Another notable figure was Nema al-Qurtubi, a 12th-century Andalusian poet and writer from the city of Cordoba, in present-day Spain. His poetic works were widely celebrated during his time and have been preserved in various literary anthologies.
In the 13th century, Nema al-Dimashqi was a prominent Syrian scholar and physician who made significant contributions to the field of medicine. He authored several treatises on various medical topics and was highly regarded for his expertise.
During the 14th century, Nema ibn al-Muqaddam was a renowned calligrapher and artist from the city of Cairo, in present-day Egypt. His intricate calligraphic works adorned many mosques and palaces throughout the region.
In the 16th century, Nema al-Maqdisi was a Palestinian scholar and poet who gained recognition for his literary works, particularly his poetry, which celebrated the beauty of nature and the human experience.
While the name Nema was more prevalent in the past, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, it has maintained a presence throughout history and across various cultures, carrying with it the essence of peace and tranquility.
People
Nema + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nema 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
Nema: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nema?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 185 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nema 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 1,852,726 US residents.
Is Nema a common name?
We classify Nema as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 363 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nema most popular?
The single biggest year for Nema was 2012, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nema is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nema in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 475 people with the name Nema, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,400 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 Nema 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 Nema?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nema leans strongly female. 392 people counted with this name were female (80.7%), compared with 94 male bearers (19.3%). 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 Nema?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nema is White at 51.8%. The next largest groups are Black (25.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.1%). 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 Nema most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nema in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.8% (246 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 Nema in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nema a female name?
Yes, 95.0% of people registered as Nema 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 Nema still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nema 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 Nema 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 share the name Nema?
Want to know how many Americans are named Nema? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.