Nerea
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "woman from the sea".
Name Census estimates that about 114 living Americans carry the first name Nerea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nerea today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nerea births was 2022 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nerea. 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 Nerea with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
114
~ 1 in 3,006,617 Americans
Peak year
2022
14 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,044
Tracked since 1996
Census
Nerea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 289 people with the first name Nerea, which placed it at #30,250 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
#30,250
National first-name rank
People counted
289
289 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
80.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nerea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nerea is Hispanic at 80.3%. The next largest groups are White (12.1%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Nerea 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 Nerea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino80.3% · 232
- White12.1% · 35
- Black or African American4.2% · 12
- Two or more races2.1% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 4
Popularity
Nerea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nerea from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 60 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nerea remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nerea 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 Nerea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nereas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nerea
The given name Nerea originates from the Basque region of Spain and France. It is derived from the Basque word "nere", meaning "my" or "mine". The name is believed to have emerged in the medieval period, around the 10th or 11th century.
Nerea has its roots in the Basque culture and language, which has been spoken in the Pyrenees region of Spain and France for centuries. The name is closely associated with the Basque people and their traditions, reflecting their unique identity and connection to the land.
While the name Nerea does not appear prominently in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been used by the Basque people for generations. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the Middle Ages, though exact records are scarce due to the oral nature of the Basque language and culture.
One of the first notable individuals with the name Nerea was Nerea Gamara, a Basque noblewoman who lived in the 15th century. She was known for her involvement in the political affairs of her time and her efforts to preserve Basque traditions.
In the 16th century, Nerea Arratibel was a prominent Basque writer and poet whose works celebrated the beauty of the Basque countryside and the resilience of her people. Her poetry helped to preserve the Basque language and culture during a period of upheaval.
The 17th century saw the rise of Nerea Urrutia, a renowned Basque artist who created intricate wood carvings and sculptures that depicted scenes from Basque folklore and daily life. Her works are considered masterpieces of Basque art and are displayed in museums across the region.
In the 19th century, Nerea Aizpurua was a Basque educator and activist who fought for the rights of women and the preservation of the Basque language in schools. Her efforts helped to ensure the survival of the Basque culture and language during a time of increasing pressure for assimilation.
More recently, Nerea Aranburu was a Basque singer and songwriter who gained popularity in the late 20th century for her modern interpretations of traditional Basque folk songs. Her music helped to introduce the Basque culture to a wider audience and inspired a new generation of Basque artists.
Throughout its history, the name Nerea has been a symbol of the enduring spirit and cultural identity of the Basque people. It reflects their deep connection to their homeland, language, and traditions, and serves as a testament to the resilience of their culture.
People
Nerea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nerea 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
Nerea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nerea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 114 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nerea 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 3,006,617 US residents.
Is Nerea a common name?
We classify Nerea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 115 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nerea most popular?
The single biggest year for Nerea was 2022, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nerea is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nerea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 289 people with the name Nerea, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,250 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 Nerea 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 Nerea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nerea appears almost entirely female. Of the 286 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Nerea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nerea is Hispanic at 80.3%. The next largest groups are White (12.1%) and Black (4.2%). 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 Nerea most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Nerea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.3% (232 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 Nerea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nerea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nerea 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 Nerea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nerea 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 Nerea 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 Americans are named Nerea?
See how many Americans are named Nerea on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.