Nyota
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- nee-OH-tah
- Origin
- Swahili
- US rank, 2025
- #5,409 for girls
Nyota is a girls' name of Swahili origin, meaning “star”. In 2025 it ranked 5,409th for girls in the US (23 babies).
What does Nyota mean?
Swahili: Swahili word
“star”
Swahili for 'star'; Nyota Uhura is the communications officer in Star Trek.
Is Nyota a girl's or a boy's name?
Nyota is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 23 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Nyota in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,409among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 23about 1 in 70,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising fastup 257% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 23 girls in the US were named Nyota, making it the 5,409th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 13,448th. It first appears in the records in 1975.
It has been given to more girls each year for the last 5 years. 2025 had the most girls named Nyota of any year since it first appeared, in 1975.
Half of all the girls named Nyota in the US since 1880 were born between 2016 and 2024, the years shaded on the chart below.
Nyota in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 23 | #5,409 |
| 2024 | 14 | #7,590 |
| 2023 | 13 | #8,050 |
| 2022 | 11 | #9,050 |
| 2021 | 10 | #9,557 |
| 2020 | 6 | #13,448 |
| 2019 | 8 | #11,350 |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 6 | #14,326 |
| 2015 | 5 | #16,413 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 5 | #16,542 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 9 | #6,338 |
| 1976 | 5 | #9,282 |
| 1975 | 5 | #9,065 |
Names like Nyota
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kyomi Miyori Ainhoa Kiyomi Yuna Zhuri Namiko Dakota Xuri Rumi Tru Minha
More Swahili names
Zuri Imani Malaika Emani Jabari Imara Maisha Asante Imaani Malaikah Taraji Zuriyah Johari Simba Zamani Ahmani
Sources
Figures from 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, “Nyota: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nyota, updated 20 October 2026.