Nijah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "path" or "way".
Name Census estimates that about 1,373 living Americans carry the first name Nijah. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Nijah today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nijah births was 1998 (81 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nijah. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 249,639 Americans
Peak year
1998
81 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,023
Tracked since 1977
Gender
Gender distribution for Nijah
Nijah leans heavily female at 86.9% of total registrations, but 184 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nijah as a male name
- Ranked #13,579 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2014 (13 births)
Nijah as a female name
- Ranked #10,023 in 2024
- 10 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (75 births)
Popularity
Nijah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nijah from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 602 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
Nijah 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 Nijah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nijahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Nijah, while Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nijah
The name Nijah has its origins in ancient Sanskrit, one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent. It is believed to have derived from the Sanskrit word "nija," which means "one's own" or "inherent." This name is often associated with concepts of individuality, uniqueness, and self-identity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nijah can be found in the Mahabharata, a renowned Sanskrit epic dating back to the 8th century BCE. In this ancient text, Nijah was the name of a minor character, a warrior who fought alongside the Pandava princes during the legendary Kurukshetra War.
Throughout history, the name Nijah has been borne by several notable individuals. In the 6th century CE, Nijah was the name of a renowned scholar and grammarian from the Indian state of Gujarat. His contributions to the study of Sanskrit grammar and linguistics were widely celebrated during his lifetime.
During the 12th century, Nijah was the name of a prominent court painter in the Rajput Kingdom of Mewar, located in present-day Rajasthan, India. His intricate and vibrant paintings adorned the walls of the royal palaces and are still admired for their exceptional artistry.
In the 16th century, Nijah was the name of a Sufi mystic and poet from the city of Lahore, now in modern-day Pakistan. His profound spiritual verses and teachings influenced the literary and cultural landscape of the region.
Another notable bearer of the name was Nijah Khan, a military commander who served under the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century. He played a crucial role in several military campaigns and was renowned for his strategic brilliance and bravery on the battlefield.
While the name Nijah has its roots in ancient Sanskrit, it has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries over the centuries, carrying with it a sense of individuality and self-expression. Its rich historical significance continues to resonate with those who bear this name.
People
Nijah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nijah 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
Nijah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nijah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,373 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nijah 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 249,639 US residents.
Is Nijah a common name?
We classify Nijah as "Rare". It ranks above 91.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,403 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nijah most popular?
The single biggest year for Nijah was 1998, when 81 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nijah is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nijah a female name?
Yes, 86.9% of people registered as Nijah 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.
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.