Ninon
A French feminine diminutive of Anne, derived from Hannah, meaning "grace."
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Ninon. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ninon today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ninon births was 1970 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ninon. 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
- • The typical person named Ninon is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ninons were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ninon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
1970
6 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1970 SSA rank
#7,699
Tracked since 1923
Census
Ninon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 205 people with the first name Ninon, which placed it at #37,817 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
#37,817
National first-name rank
People counted
205
205 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
45.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ninon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ninon is White at 45.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.8%) and Black (21.0%). 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 Ninon 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 Ninon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White45.9% · 94
- Hispanic or Latino26.8% · 55
- Black or African American21.0% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.4% · 9
- Two or more races2.0% · 4
Popularity
Ninon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ninon from the 1920s through to the 1970s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 10 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Ninon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ninon 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 Ninon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ninon
The name Ninon has its origins in the French language and culture, dating back to the 17th century. It is believed to be a diminutive form of the name Anne, which is derived from the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning "grace" or "favor."
One of the earliest and most famous bearers of the name Ninon was Ninon de Lenclos (1620-1705), a French courtesan and famous wit of the 17th century. She was known for her intelligence, beauty, and independence, and became a celebrated figure in Parisian high society.
Another notable figure with the name Ninon was Ninon Vallin (1886-1909), a French actress and dancer who performed in some of the earliest silent films. She was known for her expressive performances and helped pave the way for the development of film as an art form.
In the literary world, Ninon de Lenclos was the subject of several works, including a play by Voltaire titled "La Prude" (1723), which explored her life and relationships. Her name also appears in the writings of other 17th and 18th century authors, such as Saint-Évremond and the Marquis de La Fare.
The name Ninon also has connections to the world of art. Ninon Vallin was the subject of several paintings and drawings by artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha, reflecting her status as a celebrated performer of her time.
Other notable individuals with the name Ninon include Ninon Sevilla (1886-1987), a French actress and dancer who appeared in several films during the early 20th century, and Ninon Burlet (1925-2022), a French writer and literary critic who was known for her works exploring the lives of women.
While the name Ninon has its roots in France and was particularly popular during the 17th and 18th centuries, it has since spread to other parts of the world and continues to be used as a given name in various cultures and societies.
People
Ninon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ninon 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
Ninon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ninon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ninon 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Ninon a common name?
We classify Ninon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ninon most popular?
The single biggest year for Ninon was 1970, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ninon is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ninon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 205 people with the name Ninon, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,817 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 Ninon 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 Ninon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ninon leans strongly female. 203 people counted with this name were female (96.2%), compared with 8 male bearers (3.8%). 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 Ninon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ninon is White at 45.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.8%) and Black (21.0%). 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 Ninon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ninon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.9% (94 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 Ninon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ninon a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ninon 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 Ninon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ninon 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 Ninon 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 common is the name Ninon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.