Girls' name · since 1971
Nailah
Nailah has 4,848 recorded births since 1971 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2018 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #2,633 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,824 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 4,848
- born since 1971
- 2010s
- peak decade
Yes -- Nailah is the #1824 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 4,848 recorded since 1971.
Nailah has 4,848 recorded births among girls since 1971, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1824 as of the latest data, more common than 89% of girls, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1971 to 2025.
- #2,633 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,824 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 4,848 born since 1971
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Nailah ranks #2,633 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,824 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 4,848 born since 1971, peaking in the 2010s.
- #2,633 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,824 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 4,848
- born since 1971
- 2010s
- peak decade
Nailah's 4,848 recorded births place it above 96.36% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
25 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Nailah compares
4,848 Top 14% higher than 86% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Nailah's all-time total is 13x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Nailah | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 4,848 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 256 | 21 | 19,840 |
Nailah's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Nailah splits its recorded history at 1998: 84% of all births land in the more recent half, 16% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1971 (5 births) -- compare that against the 2018 peak of 256 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Nailah popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1971–2025
- Peak year (2018)
- 256
- Annual births at peak, across 55 years of records
Nailah by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (1,866 births, 38% of the file).
2010s was Nailah's strongest decade.
1,866 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 38% of all-time use.
Nailah births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1970s 138
1970s
138 births
- 1980s 206
1980s
206 births
- 1990s 592
1990s
592 births
- 2000s
2000s
1,212 births
- 2010s
2010s
1,866 births
- 2020s
2020s
834 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 1,866 births (38% of all-time use).
How Nailah compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Nailah's total volume
Nailah by state
Where Nailah concentrates geographically, total births since 1971
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 615 | 12.7% |
| #2 | California | | 570 | 11.8% |
| #3 | Florida | | 346 | 7.1% |
| #4 | Texas | | 326 | 6.7% |
| #5 | Georgia | | 274 | 5.7% |
| #6 | New Jersey | | 170 | 3.5% |
| #7 | Pennsylvania | | 165 | 3.4% |
| #8 | Illinois | | 159 | 3.3% |
615 of 4,848 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 25 reporting states.
Nailah appears in 25 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Nailah's data
- Nailah's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (1,866 total births) through the 2020s (834) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- New York records the most Nailahs (615 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Nailah
Nearby Names Like Nailah
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Nailah
Compare Nailah side by side: Nailah vs Naima Nailah vs Naila Nailah vs Naia
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Nailah
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Nailah: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2018)
Similar record span (~54 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1971–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Nailah draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.