Nima
Of Persian origin meaning "half" or "one-half".
Name Census estimates that about 1,338 living Americans carry the first name Nima. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 74.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Nima today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nima births was 1992 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nima. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nima with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 256,169 Americans
Peak year
1992
51 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,354
Tracked since 1921
Census
Nima in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,931 people with the first name Nima, which placed it at #5,725 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
#5,725
National first-name rank
People counted
2.9K
2,931 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
60.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nima
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nima is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.0%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Nima 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 Nima at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White60.8% · 1,782
- Asian and Pacific Islander22.0% · 645
- Two or more races7.7% · 227
- Black or African American7.7% · 226
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Nima
Nima is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,395 total registrations, 1,034 (74.1%) were male and 361 (25.9%) were female.
Nima as a male name
- Ranked #6,354 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1990 (41 births)
Nima as a female name
- Ranked #10,824 in 2024
- 9 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (16 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nima on both sides of the split. Of the 2,932 people counted with this name, 2,081 were male (71.0%) and 851 were female (29.0%).
Popularity
Nima: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nima from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 350 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Nima remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nima 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 Nima during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nimas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Maryland recorded the most babies named Nima, while New York, Maryland, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 110 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nima
The name Nima has its origins in the Persian language and culture, tracing back to ancient times. It is derived from the Persian word "neyma," which means "good fortune" or "blessing." The name was commonly used in the regions of present-day Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Nima can be found in the Shahnameh, the epic Persian poem written by Ferdowsi in the 10th century AD. The name appears in this literary masterpiece, indicating its long-standing presence in the Persian tradition.
In the 13th century, a notable figure named Nima al-Din Abul-Rahman ibn Ibrahim al-Mustawfi al-Qazwini, a Persian historian and geographer, authored the famous work "Nuzhat al-Qulub" (Delight of the Hearts). His influence and scholarly contributions helped further cement the name's prominence in the region.
During the 14th century, Nima-yi Aruz-i Samarqandi, a renowned Persian poet and scholar from Samarkand, gained recognition for his works on Persian prosody and poetic meter. His name, Nima, reflects the enduring popularity of the moniker among literary figures of that era.
In the 20th century, one of the most celebrated Persian poets, Nima Yushij (1897-1960), played a pivotal role in modernizing Persian poetry. His innovative style and groundbreaking works earned him the title of "Father of Modern Persian Poetry," further elevating the name's cultural significance.
Another notable figure bearing the name Nima was Nima Yooshij (1924-2005), an Iranian film director and screenwriter known for his contributions to the Iranian New Wave cinema movement. His films, such as "The Deer" and "The Stranger and the Fog," gained critical acclaim and showcased his artistic vision.
Throughout history, the name Nima has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, poets, artists, and historical figures, reflecting its enduring presence and cultural significance within the Persian-speaking world.
People
Nima + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nima 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
Nima: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nima?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,338 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nima 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 256,169 US residents.
Is Nima a common name?
We classify Nima as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,395 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nima most popular?
The single biggest year for Nima was 1992, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nima is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nima in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,931 people with the name Nima, or 0.97 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,725 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 Nima 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 Nima?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nima on both sides of the split. Of the 2,932 people counted with this name, 2,081 were male (71.0%) and 851 were female (29.0%). 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 Nima?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nima is White at 60.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (22.0%) and Two or More Races (7.7%). 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 Nima most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nima in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.8% (1,782 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 Nima in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nima a male name?
Yes, 74.1% of people registered as Nima 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 Nima still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nima 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 Nima 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 Nima?
You can see how many Americans are named Nima on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.