Nia
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- NEE-a
- Origin
- Welsh
- UK rank, 2025
- #331 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #702 for girls
Nia is a girls' name of Welsh origin, meaning “bright, radiant”. In 2025 it ranked 331st for girls in the UK (146 babies) and 702nd for girls in the US (403 babies).
What does Nia mean?
Welsh: Welsh form of Irish Niamh
“bright, radiant”
The Welsh form of Niamh; separately, in Swahili nia means purpose, one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Nia a girl's or a boy's name?
Nia is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 146 girls in the UK and 403 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Nia in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 331st among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 146 about 1 in 1,900 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 14% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 146 girls in the UK were named Nia, making it the 331st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 313th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 218 girls.
Half of all the girls named Nia in the UK since 1996 were born between 2004 and 2018. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
In 2025, 161 girls in the UK were given Nia or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #319, up from #331 for this spelling alone.
- Nia 146
- Niah 15
Among girls in 2025, it was 316th in England and Wales, 539th in Scotland and 397th in Northern Ireland.
Nia in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 146 | #331 |
| 2024 | 139 | #348 |
| 2023 | 145 | #335 |
| 2022 | 166 | #299 |
| 2021 | 178 | #296 |
| 2020 | 166 | #313 |
| 2019 | 170 | #309 |
| 2018 | 162 | #320 |
| 2017 | 171 | #311 |
| 2016 | 192 | #288 |
| 2015 | 162 | #322 |
| 2014 | 158 | #321 |
| 2013 | 183 | #285 |
| 2012 | 167 | #318 |
| 2011 | 170 | #319 |
| 2010 | 158 | #326 |
| 2009 | 167 | #308 |
| 2008 | 218 | #252 |
| 2007 | 207 | #268 |
| 2006 | 208 | #255 |
| 2005 | 184 | #265 |
| 2004 | 206 | #245 |
| 2003 | 193 | #257 |
| 2002 | 162 | #273 |
| 2001 | 173 | #263 |
| 2000 | 158 | #277 |
| 1999 | 134 | #296 |
| 1998 | 138 | #299 |
| 1997 | 138 | #293 |
| 1996 | 102 | #372 |
How popular is Nia in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 702nd among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 403 about 1 in 4,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 32% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 403 girls in the US were named Nia, making it the 702nd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 494th. Its busiest year was 2000, with 1,033 girls. It first appears in the records in 1951.
It has been given to fewer girls each year for the last 7 years. 2025 had fewer girls named Nia than any year since 1992.
Half of all the girls named Nia in the US since 1880 were born between 1998 and 2014, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 427 girls in the US were given Nia or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #673, up from #702 for this spelling alone.
- Nia 403
- Niah 24
Nia in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 403 | #702 |
| 2024 | 431 | #671 |
| 2023 | 460 | #637 |
| 2022 | 497 | #603 |
| 2021 | 523 | #578 |
| 2020 | 618 | #494 |
| 2019 | 629 | #500 |
| 2018 | 659 | #472 |
| 2017 | 632 | #494 |
| 2016 | 736 | #438 |
| 2015 | 718 | #442 |
| 2014 | 654 | #481 |
| 2013 | 595 | #506 |
| 2012 | 675 | #464 |
| 2011 | 604 | #492 |
| 2010 | 644 | #469 |
| 2009 | 636 | #483 |
| 2008 | 681 | #464 |
| 2007 | 816 | #401 |
| 2006 | 853 | #380 |
| 2005 | 782 | #402 |
| 2004 | 891 | #356 |
| 2003 | 893 | #345 |
| 2002 | 961 | #319 |
| 2001 | 1,025 | #310 |
| 2000 | 1,033 | #307 |
| 1999 | 797 | #368 |
| 1998 | 891 | #330 |
| 1997 | 717 | #376 |
| 1996 | 565 | #448 |
| 1995 | 495 | #495 |
| 1994 | 449 | #543 |
| 1993 | 466 | #522 |
| 1992 | 306 | #704 |
| 1991 | 368 | #614 |
| 1990 | 229 | #858 |
| 1989 | 143 | #1,146 |
| 1988 | 135 | #1,131 |
| 1987 | 109 | #1,280 |
| 1986 | 169 | #941 |
| 1985 | 153 | #998 |
| 1984 | 76 | #1,502 |
| 1983 | 102 | #1,237 |
| 1982 | 99 | #1,284 |
| 1981 | 95 | #1,319 |
| 1980 | 117 | #1,152 |
| 1979 | 65 | #1,694 |
| 1978 | 80 | #1,434 |
| 1977 | 81 | #1,380 |
| 1976 | 93 | #1,216 |
| 1975 | 104 | #1,119 |
| 1974 | 223 | #672 |
| 1973 | 44 | #1,885 |
| 1972 | 48 | #1,786 |
| 1971 | 31 | #2,427 |
| 1970 | 19 | #3,311 |
| 1969 | 20 | #3,011 |
| 1968 | 15 | #3,455 |
| 1967 | 12 | #3,844 |
| 1966 | 20 | #2,751 |
| 1965 | 13 | #3,548 |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 5 | #6,577 |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 6 | #5,376 |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 7 | #4,653 |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 6 | #4,832 |
Names like Nia
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Safa, Summer, Zainab, Maya, Aaliyah, Mia, Hiba, Khadija, Hafsa, Ayla, Amira, Talia
Other spellings of Nia
Names related to Nia
More Welsh names
Dylan, Owen, Winnie, Maddox, Morgan, Idris, Reese, Bowen, Griffin, Rhys, Gavin, Reece, Seren, Gwendolyn, Winifred, Meredith
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Nia: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nia, updated 20 October 2026.