Nyshon
Of unknown origin, possibly a variant of the name Nyshawn.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Nyshon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nyshon today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nyshon births was 2010 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nyshon. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nyshon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2010
5 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2010 SSA rank
#13,716
Tracked since 2010
Popularity
Nyshon: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Nyshon 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 Nyshon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Nyshon
The name Nyshon is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known written languages, dating back to around 3500 BC. It is thought to be derived from the Sumerian word "nishu," which means "life" or "breath." The name may have been given to newborns as a wish for a long and prosperous life.
In the epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest known literary works from Mesopotamia, there is a character named Nishumun, which bears a striking resemblance to the name Nyshon. This could suggest that the name has been in use for thousands of years, though its exact origins remain obscure.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Nyshon can be found in ancient Akkadian cuneiform inscriptions from around 2500 BC. These inscriptions were discovered in the ruins of the city of Ur, located in present-day Iraq, which was a major cultural center of the Sumerian civilization.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Nyshon was a Sumerian priest who lived around 2300 BC. He is mentioned in a clay tablet that records his duties and responsibilities in the temple of the god Enki in the city of Eridu.
Another notable figure named Nyshon was a Babylonian astronomer who lived during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II, around 600 BC. He is credited with making significant contributions to the study of celestial movements and the development of early astronomical calendars.
In the biblical Book of Numbers, there is a reference to a man named Nahshon, son of Amminadab, who was a leader of the tribe of Judah during the Exodus from Egypt. While the spelling differs slightly, some scholars believe this could be an early variant of the name Nyshon.
During the medieval period, there are records of a Persian philosopher named Nyshon al-Kindi, who lived in the 9th century AD. He wrote extensively on subjects such as mathematics, astronomy, and metaphysics, and his works were influential in the Islamic world.
In the 12th century, there was a Jewish scholar from Spain named Nyshon ben Reuben, who was renowned for his expertise in Talmudic law and Hebrew grammar. His commentaries on religious texts were widely studied in Jewish communities across Europe.
People
Nyshon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nyshon 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
Nyshon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nyshon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nyshon 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Nyshon a common name?
We classify Nyshon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nyshon most popular?
The single biggest year for Nyshon was 2010, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nyshon is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Nyshon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nyshon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nyshon 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 Nyshon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nyshon 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 Nyshon 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Nyshon?
Want to know how many Americans are named Nyshon? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.