Nnamdi
A masculine name of Nigerian origin meaning "father is alive".
Name Census estimates that about 779 living Americans carry the first name Nnamdi. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nnamdi today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nnamdi births was 1997 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nnamdi. 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 Nnamdi with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
779
~ 1 in 439,993 Americans
Peak year
1997
34 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,695
Tracked since 1976
Census
Nnamdi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,008 people with the first name Nnamdi, which placed it at #12,372 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
#12,372
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,008 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nnamdi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nnamdi is Black at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and White (1.6%). 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 Nnamdi 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 Nnamdi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.2% · 950
- Two or more races3.1% · 31
- White1.6% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino1.1% · 11
Popularity
Nnamdi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nnamdi from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 207 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Nnamdi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nnamdi 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 Nnamdi during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nnamdis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Nnamdi, while California, New York, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nnamdi
The name Nnamdi originates from the Igbo language spoken in southeastern Nigeria. It is a combination of two Igbo words: "nna" meaning "father" and "ndi" meaning "life" or "being." Therefore, the name Nnamdi translates to "father's life" or "father's being."
The Igbo people have a long and rich cultural history, with their origins traced back to the ancient Kingdom of Nri, which flourished between the 9th and 13th centuries CE. The name Nnamdi has been in use among the Igbo people for centuries, reflecting their strong emphasis on family and ancestral connections.
While there are no specific historical references to the name Nnamdi in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has been a popular name among the Igbo people throughout history. Some notable individuals with the name Nnamdi include:
1. Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904-1996), a prominent Nigerian statesman and the first President of Nigeria after independence in 1963. He was a leading figure in the Nigerian independence movement and played a crucial role in the country's transition to self-governance.
2. Nnamdi Kanu (born 1967), a British-Nigerian political activist and the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group advocating for the independence of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria.
3. Nnamdi Asomugha (born 1981), a former American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles.
4. Nnamdi Okonkwo (born 1955), a Nigerian businessman and the founder of Fidelity Bank, one of the largest commercial banks in Nigeria.
5. Nnamdi Okongwu (born 2001), a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA.
Throughout history, the name Nnamdi has been a symbol of the rich cultural heritage and resilience of the Igbo people. It has been carried by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields, including politics, activism, sports, and business.
People
Nnamdi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nnamdi 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
Nnamdi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nnamdi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 779 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nnamdi 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 439,993 US residents.
Is Nnamdi a common name?
We classify Nnamdi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 797 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nnamdi most popular?
The single biggest year for Nnamdi was 1997, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nnamdi is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nnamdi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,008 people with the name Nnamdi, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,372 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 Nnamdi 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 Nnamdi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nnamdi appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,009 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Nnamdi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nnamdi is Black at 94.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and White (1.6%). 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 Nnamdi most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nnamdi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.2% (950 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 Nnamdi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nnamdi a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nnamdi 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 Nnamdi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nnamdi 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 Nnamdi 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 Nnamdi?
See how many people have the name Nnamdi on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.