Nephtali
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "my struggle" or "wrestled".
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the first name Nephtali. It is a predominantly male name (95.7% of registrations). The average person named Nephtali today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nephtali births was 1975 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nephtali. 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.
People living today
132
~ 1 in 2,596,624 Americans
Peak year
1975
10 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2017 SSA rank
#10,461
Tracked since 1964
Census
Nephtali in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 352 people with the first name Nephtali, which placed it at #26,438 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
#26,438
National first-name rank
People counted
352
352 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
85.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nephtali
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nephtali is Hispanic at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Nephtali 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 Nephtali at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino85.2% · 300
- Black or African American8.5% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 13
- White2.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
- Two or more races0.3% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Nephtali
Nephtali leans heavily male at 95.7% of total registrations, but 6 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nephtali as a male name
- Ranked #10,461 in 2017
- 7 male births in 2017
- Peak: 1975 (10 births)
Nephtali as a female name
- Ranked #12,935 in 1994
- 6 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1994 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nephtali leans strongly male. 308 people counted with this name were male (86.8%), compared with 47 female bearers (13.2%).
Popularity
Nephtali: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nephtali from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 44 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nephtali 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 Nephtali during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nephtalis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nephtali
The name Nephtali has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture. It is derived from the Hebrew word "Naftali," which means "my struggle" or "my wrestling." The name is believed to have originated sometime around the 15th century BC.
One of the earliest and most notable references to the name Nephtali can be found in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. It is mentioned as the name of one of the twelve sons of Jacob, the patriarch of the Israelites. According to the biblical account, Nephtali was the son of Jacob and Bilhah, the handmaid of Rachel.
The name Nephtali gained further significance in the Bible as it became the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel, known as the Tribe of Nephtali. This tribe was allotted a territory in the northern part of ancient Israel, near the Sea of Galilee.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nephtali. One of the earliest recorded examples is Nephtali ben Abner, a Jewish scholar who lived in the 9th century AD and was known for his contributions to the study of the Talmud.
In the 16th century, Nephtali Herz Treves (1493-1549) was a prominent Jewish printer and publisher who played a significant role in the dissemination of Jewish literature during the Renaissance period.
Another notable figure was Nephtali Zevi Judah Berlin (1817-1893), also known as the Netziv, a influential Lithuanian rabbi and scholar who made significant contributions to the study of Jewish law and ethics.
In the 20th century, Nephtali Lewis (1895-1971) was a Russian-born American artist and writer known for his paintings and writings about the American Southwest.
Finally, Nephtali Tochukwu Eddy Ogu (born 1981) is a Nigerian professional footballer who has played for several clubs in Europe and Africa, representing his country in international competitions.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Nephtali, reflecting its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Nephtali + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nephtali 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
Nephtali: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nephtali?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 132 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nephtali 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 2,596,624 US residents.
Is Nephtali a common name?
We classify Nephtali as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 138 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nephtali most popular?
The single biggest year for Nephtali was 1975, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nephtali is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nephtali in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 352 people with the name Nephtali, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,438 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 Nephtali 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 Nephtali?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nephtali leans strongly male. 308 people counted with this name were male (86.8%), compared with 47 female bearers (13.2%). 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 Nephtali?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nephtali is Hispanic at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Nephtali most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Nephtali in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.2% (300 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 Nephtali in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nephtali a male name?
Yes, 95.7% of people registered as Nephtali 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 Nephtali still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nephtali 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 Nephtali 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 have the name Nephtali?
Find out how many people share the name Nephtali on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.