Nzinga
Of Kongo origin, meaning "to walk with honors".
Name Census estimates that about 309 living Americans carry the first name Nzinga. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nzinga today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nzinga births was 1979 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nzinga. 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.
People living today
309
~ 1 in 1,109,237 Americans
Peak year
1979
15 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2021 SSA rank
#10,121
Tracked since 1972
Census
Nzinga in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 329 people with the first name Nzinga, which placed it at #27,678 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
#27,678
National first-name rank
People counted
329
329 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nzinga
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nzinga is Black at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Nzinga 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 Nzinga at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.7% · 295
- Two or more races6.7% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 5
- White1.2% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Nzinga: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nzinga 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 92 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nzinga 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 Nzinga during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nzingas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nzinga
Nzinga is a name of African origin, specifically from the Bantu language group spoken in parts of Central and Southern Africa. It is believed to have roots in the Kimbundu and Umbundu languages of Angola.
The name gained historical significance due to its association with Queen Nzinga Mbande (c. 1583-1663), a powerful ruler of the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms in modern-day Angola. She is celebrated for her military prowess, diplomatic skills, and resistance against Portuguese colonization efforts in the 17th century.
The earliest recorded use of the name Nzinga can be traced back to the 16th century, when it was borne by Queen Nzinga's father, Ngola Kiliwanji, the ruler of the Ndongo kingdom. It is believed that the name may have originated from the Kimbundu word "kuzinga," meaning "to twist or curve."
Throughout history, several other notable individuals have carried the name Nzinga. One such figure was Nzinga Makitina (c. 1530-1595), a military leader and diplomat who played a crucial role in negotiating treaties between the Ndongo kingdom and the Portuguese during the early stages of colonization.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Nzinga Mona (c. 1640-1700), a renowned warrior and advisor to Queen Nzinga Mbande. She is credited with leading successful military campaigns against the Portuguese and contributing to the preservation of Ndongo's independence.
In the 19th century, Nzinga Mbandi (c. 1835-1904) was a influential chief and diplomat from the Ovimbundu people of present-day Angola. He played a significant role in negotiating treaties and maintaining peaceful relations with the Portuguese colonial authorities.
Nzinga Luluwa (c. 1880-1960) was a renowned traditional healer and spiritual leader from the Kongo region of Central Africa. She was revered for her expertise in traditional medicine and her commitment to preserving the cultural heritage of her people.
People
Nzinga + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nzinga 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
Nzinga: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nzinga?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 309 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nzinga 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 1,109,237 US residents.
Is Nzinga a common name?
We classify Nzinga as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 325 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nzinga most popular?
The single biggest year for Nzinga was 1979, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nzinga is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nzinga in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 329 people with the name Nzinga, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,678 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 Nzinga 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 Nzinga?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nzinga leans strongly female. 310 people counted with this name were female (94.2%), compared with 19 male bearers (5.8%). 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 Nzinga?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nzinga is Black at 89.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Nzinga most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nzinga in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (295 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 Nzinga in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nzinga a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nzinga 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 Nzinga still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nzinga 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 Nzinga 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 share the name Nzinga?
Find out how many people share the name Nzinga on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.