Nijae
Of Arabic origin, meaning "one who achieves or attains success".
Name Census estimates that about 196 living Americans carry the first name Nijae. It is a predominantly female name (92.5% of registrations). The average person named Nijae today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nijae births was 2007 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nijae. 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
196
~ 1 in 1,748,747 Americans
Peak year
2007
17 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2009 SSA rank
#13,901
Tracked since 1994
Census
Nijae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 196 people with the first name Nijae, which placed it at #38,869 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
#38,869
National first-name rank
People counted
196
196 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
92.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nijae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nijae is Black at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Nijae 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 Nijae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American92.9% · 182
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 4
- Two or more races2.0% · 4
- White1.0% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Nijae
Nijae leans heavily female at 92.5% of total registrations, but 15 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nijae as a male name
- Ranked #13,901 in 2009
- 5 male births in 2009
- Peak: 2000 (5 births)
Nijae as a female name
- Ranked #16,921 in 2023
- 5 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2007 (17 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nijae on both sides of the split. Of the 199 people counted with this name, 52 were male (26.1%) and 147 were female (73.9%).
Popularity
Nijae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nijae from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 112 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nijae 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 Nijae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nijaes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nijae
The name Nijae has its origins in the Yoruba language, which is spoken by the Yoruba people of West Africa, primarily in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The name is believed to have emerged in the 16th or 17th century, during the peak of the Yoruba empire.
Nijae is derived from the Yoruba word "ije," which means "journey" or "travel." It is often interpreted as a name that symbolizes a life journey or a path one takes in life. Some scholars also suggest that the name may have its roots in the phrase "ni ije," which translates to "on a journey" or "on a path."
While there are no definitive historical records or ancient texts that explicitly mention the name Nijae, it is believed to have been used by the Yoruba people for centuries. The earliest known references to the name can be traced back to the late 18th and early 19th centuries, during the transatlantic slave trade, when many Yoruba people were forcibly brought to the Americas.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Nijae was Nijae Olukoya, a Yoruba woman who was born in the late 18th century in present-day Nigeria. She was among the thousands of Yoruba people who were captured and enslaved, eventually being transported to the United States. Despite the hardships she endured, Nijae Olukoya is said to have maintained her cultural identity and passed down her name to her descendants.
Another notable figure with the name Nijae was Nijae Adebola, a Yoruba warrior and military leader who lived in the early 19th century. He was known for his bravery and strategic prowess in battles against rival kingdoms. Nijae Adebola's exploits were celebrated in Yoruba folklore and oral traditions, cementing his place in history.
In more recent times, the name Nijae has been carried by several prominent individuals, including Nijae Briggs, an American basketball player who played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the early 2000s. Born in 1976, she was known for her defensive skills and tenacity on the court.
Another notable person with the name Nijae is Nijae Cobb, an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to fame in the late 2010s. Born in 1992, she has released several critically acclaimed albums and has been recognized for her unique style and storytelling through her music.
While the name Nijae is not as common as some other names, it has a rich cultural heritage and a fascinating history that spans centuries and continents. Whether it is a tribute to the journey of life or a nod to the resilience and strength of the Yoruba people, the name Nijae carries with it a sense of pride and identity.
People
Nijae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nijae 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
Nijae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nijae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nijae 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 1,748,747 US residents.
Is Nijae a common name?
We classify Nijae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 199 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nijae most popular?
The single biggest year for Nijae was 2007, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nijae is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nijae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 196 people with the name Nijae, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,869 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 Nijae 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 Nijae?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nijae on both sides of the split. Of the 199 people counted with this name, 52 were male (26.1%) and 147 were female (73.9%). 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 Nijae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nijae is Black at 92.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.0%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Nijae most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nijae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.9% (182 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 Nijae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nijae a female name?
Yes, 92.5% of people registered as Nijae 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 Nijae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nijae 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 Nijae 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 are called Nijae?
You can see how many people share the name Nijae on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.