Nilah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "attained" or "reach of goal".
Name Census estimates that about 1,256 living Americans carry the first name Nilah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nilah today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nilah births was 2012 (84 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nilah. 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.
Key insights
- • Nilah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 272,894 Americans
Peak year
2012
84 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,616
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Nilah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nilah from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 710 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nilah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nilah 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 Nilah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nilahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, New York, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Nilah, while Virginia, Louisiana, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nilah
The name Nilah has its origins in Arabic culture and language. It is derived from the Arabic word "nilah," which means "indigo" or "deep blue." This name is believed to have emerged during the medieval period in the Middle East and North Africa, where the use of indigo dye for textiles was widespread.
In ancient Arabic literature, the name Nilah is sometimes associated with the color blue, which held symbolic significance in Islamic art and culture. The color blue was often used to represent the sky, water, and the divine realm, making the name Nilah a poetic and spiritually-infused choice.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nilah can be found in the writings of the 10th-century Arab poet and scholar, Al-Mutanabbi. In his celebrated collection of poems, he mentions a woman named Nilah, although details about her life are scarce.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Nilah. One of the most famous was Nilah al-Zahida (1150-1228), a renowned Sufi mystic and poet from Baghdad. Her works explored the themes of divine love, spiritual enlightenment, and the mystical path.
Another historical figure named Nilah was Nilah bint al-Badr (1225-1293), a influential scholar and teacher of Islamic jurisprudence from Damascus. She was widely respected for her vast knowledge of Islamic law and her contributions to legal education during the Ayyubid dynasty.
In the 15th century, Nilah al-Masriya (1410-1478) was a celebrated calligrapher and artist in Cairo, known for her exquisite illuminated manuscripts and her mastery of the Arabic script.
During the Ottoman Empire, Nilah Hanim (1560-1625) was a prominent figure at the imperial court in Istanbul. She was a skilled poet and patron of the arts, and her works were widely celebrated in her lifetime.
While the name Nilah has ancient roots, it has maintained a presence throughout various periods of history, carried by notable individuals in the realms of literature, spirituality, scholarship, and the arts.
People
Nilah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nilah 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
Nilah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nilah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,256 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nilah 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 272,894 US residents.
Is Nilah a common name?
We classify Nilah as "Rare". It ranks above 91.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,380 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nilah most popular?
The single biggest year for Nilah was 2012, when 84 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nilah is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nilah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nilah 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.