Nhia
A Lao feminine name meaning "shadow" or "dark".
Name Census estimates that about 236 living Americans carry the first name Nhia. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Nhia today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nhia births was 1989 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nhia. 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
236
~ 1 in 1,452,349 Americans
Peak year
1989
27 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1998 SSA rank
#5,724
Tracked since 1981
Census
Nhia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 954 people with the first name Nhia, which placed it at #12,853 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
#12,853
National first-name rank
People counted
954
954 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
95.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nhia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nhia is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.6%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Nhia 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 Nhia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander95.5% · 911
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 15
- Black or African American1.0% · 10
- Two or more races1.0% · 10
- White0.8% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Nhia
Nhia leans heavily male at 86.9% of total registrations, but 32 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nhia as a male name
- Ranked #5,724 in 1998
- 11 male births in 1998
- Peak: 1990 (20 births)
Nhia as a female name
- Ranked #12,609 in 1991
- 6 female births in 1991
- Peak: 1989 (10 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nhia on both sides of the split. Of the 957 people counted with this name, 689 were male (72.0%) and 268 were female (28.0%).
Popularity
Nhia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nhia from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 128 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nhia 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 Nhia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nhias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Minnesota, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Nhia, while Wisconsin, Minnesota, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nhia
The name Nhia is believed to originate from the Hmong language, spoken by the Hmong people who are an ethnic group from Southeast Asia, primarily found in parts of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. The Hmong have a rich cultural heritage that dates back centuries, and their language is part of the Hmong-Mien family.
The exact meaning and etymology of the name Nhia are not entirely clear, as the Hmong language has many dialects and variations. However, some scholars suggest that it may be derived from an ancient Hmong word or phrase related to nature, such as a flower or a plant. Others believe it may have been a name given to children born during a particular season or under certain astrological circumstances.
While there are no known historical references to the name Nhia in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is believed to have been used by the Hmong people for generations. The earliest recorded examples of individuals bearing this name can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the Hmong community began to interact more frequently with Western cultures and record-keeping systems.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Nhia was Nhia Thao, a prominent Hmong leader and activist born in Laos in the early 20th century. He played a crucial role in advocating for the rights and welfare of the Hmong people during the Vietnam War and the subsequent refugee crisis.
Another notable figure was Nhia Yang, a Hmong-American author and educator born in 1966 in Laos. She wrote several books and articles about the Hmong culture, traditions, and experiences, contributing to the preservation and understanding of her heritage.
In the field of literature, Nhia Xiong, a Hmong-American writer born in 1980 in Thailand, gained recognition for her works exploring the themes of identity, migration, and cultural adaptation. Her poetry and prose have been widely published and celebrated.
Nhia Vang, born in 1975 in Laos, is a Hmong-American community leader and activist who has worked tirelessly to promote education, health, and economic opportunities for the Hmong diaspora in the United States.
Lastly, Nhia Lee, born in 1985 in Thailand, is a Hmong-American artist and illustrator known for her vibrant and culturally inspired artwork, which has been featured in various exhibitions and publications.
These individuals, among others, have carried the name Nhia with pride and contributed to the rich tapestry of Hmong culture and heritage, solidifying its place in history and ensuring its continued use and significance.
People
Nhia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nhia 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
Nhia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nhia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 236 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nhia 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 1,452,349 US residents.
Is Nhia a common name?
We classify Nhia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 245 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nhia most popular?
The single biggest year for Nhia was 1989, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nhia 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 Nhia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 954 people with the name Nhia, or 0.32 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,853 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 Nhia 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 Nhia?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nhia on both sides of the split. Of the 957 people counted with this name, 689 were male (72.0%) and 268 were female (28.0%). 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 Nhia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nhia is Asian/Pacific Islander at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.6%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Nhia most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nhia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (911 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 Nhia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nhia a male name?
Yes, 86.9% of people registered as Nhia 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 Nhia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nhia 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 Nhia 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 common is the name Nhia?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.