Neyah
A feminine name of uncertain origin meaning "blossom" or "sprout".
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the first name Neyah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Neyah today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Neyah births was 2016 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Neyah. 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 Neyah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
116
~ 1 in 2,954,779 Americans
Peak year
2016
13 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2022 SSA rank
#17,050
Tracked since 1999
Popularity
Neyah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Neyah 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 73 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neyah 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 Neyah 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 Neyah
The name Neyah is a relatively modern name with uncertain origins. It appears to be a variant spelling of the name Neya, which is derived from the Arabic word "naya" meaning "intention" or "purpose." Some sources suggest that it may also be a feminine form of the Hebrew name Nehemiah, which means "comforted by God."
While the name itself does not have a long historical record, it has gained popularity in recent decades, particularly among parents seeking unique and meaningful names for their children. The earliest recorded instances of the name Neyah are from the late 20th century, although it is difficult to pinpoint an exact origin.
Despite its modern usage, there are a few notable individuals throughout history who have carried similar names. One example is Nehemiah, a biblical figure from the 5th century BC who was a Jewish leader and writer of the Book of Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible. Another is Nayah, an African princess from the Kingdom of Kongo in the 16th century, who played a significant role in the early encounters between the Kongolese and Portuguese explorers.
In more recent times, there have been a handful of individuals named Neyah who have achieved some level of recognition. Neyah White is an American actress and model, known for her roles in television shows and films in the early 2000s. Neyah Shumard is a contemporary American basketball player who has competed in various professional leagues.
Other notable individuals with the name Neyah include Neyah Bowers, an American singer-songwriter and musician active in the early 2010s, and Neyah Callou, a Canadian social media influencer and content creator with a sizeable following on platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
While the name Neyah may be relatively new, it has already made its mark in various fields, from entertainment and sports to social media and beyond. As a unique and meaningful name, it is likely to continue gaining popularity and leaving its imprint on history in the years to come.
People
Neyah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Neyah 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
Neyah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Neyah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 116 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Neyah 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 2,954,779 US residents.
Is Neyah a common name?
We classify Neyah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 66.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 117 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Neyah most popular?
The single biggest year for Neyah was 2016, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Neyah is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Neyah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Neyah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Neyah 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 Neyah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Neyah 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 Neyah 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Neyah?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Neyah at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.