Girls' name · since 1972

Neela

Neela has 1,374 recorded births since 1972 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2007 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#6,048 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#3,313 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
1,374
born since 1972
2010s
peak decade

Neela currently ranks #3313 among girls' names in America, with 1,374 babies recorded since 1972.

Neela has 1,374 recorded births among girls since 1972, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #3313 as of the latest data, more common than 81% 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 1972 to 2025.

  • #6,048 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #3,313 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 1,374 born since 1972
  • 2010s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Neela ranks #6,048 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #3,313 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 1,374 born since 1972, peaking in the 2010s.

#6,048 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#3,313 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
1,374
born since 1972
2010s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%80.8%
Neela vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Above the archive median
All-time archive position

Neela's 1,374 recorded births place it above 91.63% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

14 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

14 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Neela compares

1,374 Top 27% higher than 73% 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

Neela's all-time total is 4x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Neela Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 1,374 376 567,345
Peak-year births 103 21 19,840

Neela's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Divide Neela's SSA record in two at 2005 and the more recent half accounts for 87% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 13%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1978, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 2007 peak of 103, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.

Neela popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1972–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (2007)
103
Annual births at peak, across 54 years of records
050100150 19721980199020032009201520212025 47

Neela by decade

2010s is the heaviest window (524 births, 38% of the file).

2010s was Neela's strongest decade.

524 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 38% of all-time use.

Neela births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 2010s at 524 births (38% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Neela 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 Neela's total volume

Neela vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%5%10%15%20%25% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -60, 9.3%-85, 8.5%-81, 3.6%-69, 3.7%-133, 2.5%-36, 7.6%-16, 21.3%-34, 6.3%-125, 3.3%-26, 7.3%-140, 4.2%-145, 2.3%-78, 3.3%-115, 4.9%-146, 3%Neela-54, 7.5%Neela
Neela vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Neela by state

Where Neela concentrates geographically, total births since 1972

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Neela
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
208 15.1%
#2 Texas
63 4.6%
#3 Florida
27 2.0%
#4 New York
22 1.6%
#5 Illinois
18 1.3%
#6 Arizona
10 0.7%
#7 Wisconsin
10 0.7%
#8 Washington
8 0.6%
California share of Neela's total US births 15.1%
Even split

208 of 1,374 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 14 reporting states.

Neela appears in 14 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Neela?
1,374 babies have been named Neela since 1972. All-time, it sits at #6,048 of 72,339 girls' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #3,313 of 17,297 among girls. The peak year was 2007 with 103 births.
Where does Neela sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Neela ranks #6,048 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #3,313 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Neela most popular?
Neela was most popular in the 2010s decade with 524 total births. The single peak year was 2007.
Where is Neela most popular?
The top states for the name Neela are California (208 births), Texas (63 births), Florida (27 births).
How long has the name Neela been used?
Records for Neela go back to 1972, giving 54 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Neela?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Neely, Neena, Neema, Neeley, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Neela's data

  • Neela's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (524 total births) through the 2020s (269) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • California records the most Neelas (208 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Neela

Nearby Names Like Neela

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Neela

Names with a similar popularity rank to Neela

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Neela: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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, 1972–2025 (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 Neela 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.