Nyela
A feminine name of African origin meaning "to go forward".
Name Census estimates that about 284 living Americans carry the first name Nyela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nyela today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nyela births was 2023 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nyela. 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 Nyela with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
284
~ 1 in 1,206,881 Americans
Peak year
2023
28 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,842
Tracked since 1998
Census
Nyela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 218 people with the first name Nyela, which placed it at #36,419 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
#36,419
National first-name rank
People counted
218
218 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
72.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nyela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nyela is Black at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.2%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Nyela 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 Nyela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American72.5% · 158
- Hispanic or Latino14.2% · 31
- Two or more races6.0% · 13
- White5.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 2
Popularity
Nyela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nyela from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 123 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Nyela remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nyela 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 Nyela during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nyelas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nyela
The name Nyela is believed to have its origins in the Luhya language, spoken by the Luhya people of western Kenya and eastern Uganda. The Luhya are a Bantu ethnic group, and the name Nyela likely stems from the Luhya word "nyela," which means "to be kind" or "to be gentle."
In ancient times, the Luhya people inhabited the region around Lake Victoria, and their cultural practices and traditions date back several centuries. The name Nyela may have been used by the Luhya as a way to bestow upon a child the qualities of kindness and gentleness, which were highly valued in their society.
While there are no specific historical references to the name Nyela in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is possible that it was used by the Luhya people for generations before written records were kept. The earliest known mention of the name in written form dates back to the late 19th century, when European explorers and missionaries began documenting the languages and cultures of the region.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Nyela was Nyela Obanda, a Luhya woman who lived in the late 19th century and was known for her role in preserving the traditional arts and crafts of her people. Another notable figure was Nyela Mukhwana, a Luhya chief who played a significant role in negotiating peace between rival clans in the early 20th century.
In more recent times, the name Nyela has gained recognition through various individuals, such as Nyela Wamala (1935-2010), a Ugandan politician and activist who fought for women's rights and gender equality. Nyela Basney (born 1962) is an American author and educator who has written extensively on African literature and culture.
Additionally, there was Nyela Masamba (1927-2005), a Kenyan writer and poet who was instrumental in preserving the oral traditions of the Luhya people through her works. Nyela Adongo (born 1982) is a Ugandan entrepreneur and philanthropist who has established several successful businesses and initiatives aimed at empowering women and youth in her community.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Nyela throughout history, each contributing to their respective fields and leaving a lasting impact on their communities and beyond.
People
Nyela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nyela 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
Nyela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nyela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 284 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nyela 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 1,206,881 US residents.
Is Nyela a common name?
We classify Nyela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 287 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nyela most popular?
The single biggest year for Nyela was 2023, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nyela is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nyela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 218 people with the name Nyela, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,419 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 Nyela 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 Nyela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nyela appears almost entirely female. Of the 217 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Nyela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nyela is Black at 72.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.2%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). 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 Nyela most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nyela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.5% (158 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 Nyela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nyela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nyela 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 Nyela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nyela 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 Nyela 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 have the name Nyela?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Nyela, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.