Nija
A feminine variant of the name Najla, of Arabic origin meaning "tree" or "heavenly".
Name Census estimates that about 804 living Americans carry the first name Nija. It is a predominantly female name (97.7% of registrations). The average person named Nija today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nija births was 1999 (58 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nija. 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
804
~ 1 in 426,311 Americans
Peak year
1999
58 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2005 SSA rank
#9,844
Tracked since 1973
Census
Nija in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 748 people with the first name Nija, which placed it at #15,394 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
#15,394
National first-name rank
People counted
748
748 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nija
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nija is Black at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Nija 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 Nija at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.1% · 607
- Two or more races4.9% · 37
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 34
- White3.9% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Nija
Nija leans heavily female at 97.7% of total registrations, but 19 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nija as a male name
- Ranked #9,844 in 2005
- 7 male births in 2005
- Peak: 2003 (7 births)
Nija as a female name
- Ranked #15,996 in 2014
- 6 female births in 2014
- Peak: 1999 (58 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nija leans strongly female. 675 people counted with this name were female (90.8%), compared with 68 male bearers (9.2%).
Popularity
Nija: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nija from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 350 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
Nija 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 Nija during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nijas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. New York, North Carolina, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Nija, while Michigan, Maryland, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nija
The name Nija has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which dates back to the second millennium BCE. It is derived from the word "nij," which means "one's own" or "inherent." This suggests that the name may have been given to individuals with a strong sense of self or individuality.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nija can be found in the Vedas, the ancient Hindu scriptures composed between 1500 and 500 BCE. It is mentioned in the Rig Veda, one of the oldest and most revered texts in the Hindu tradition, though the context is unclear.
In the 7th century CE, a Nija is mentioned in the Harsha Charita, a historical biography of the Indian emperor Harsha. This Nija was a renowned scholar and philosopher who served as a advisor to the emperor.
During the medieval period, the name Nija was associated with several notable figures in the Indian subcontinent. Nija Sarasvati (1050-1120) was a celebrated poet and writer from the Vijayanagara Empire, known for her contributions to Sanskrit literature. Nija Bhatta (1200-1270) was a renowned mathematician and astronomer from the Hoysala Empire, who made significant advancements in the study of calculus and trigonometry.
In the 16th century, Nija Puri (1500-1570) was a revered spiritual leader and mystic from the Nath tradition, known for his teachings on self-realization and inner transformation.
It is worth noting that while the name Nija has its roots in Sanskrit, it has been adopted and adapted by various cultures throughout history, leading to slight variations in spelling and pronunciation. However, the core meaning and significance of the name have remained largely consistent across different regions and time periods.
People
Nija + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nija 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
Nija: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nija?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 804 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nija 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 426,311 US residents.
Is Nija a common name?
We classify Nija as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 834 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nija most popular?
The single biggest year for Nija was 1999, when 58 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nija is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nija in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 748 people with the name Nija, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,394 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 Nija 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 Nija?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nija leans strongly female. 675 people counted with this name were female (90.8%), compared with 68 male bearers (9.2%). 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 Nija?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nija is Black at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.9%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Nija most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nija in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.1% (607 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 Nija in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nija a female name?
Yes, 97.7% of people registered as Nija 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 Nija still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nija 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 Nija 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 Nija as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.