Girls' name · since 2009
Nelani
209 babies named Nelani in U.S. Social Security records since 2009, with the highest year being 2020. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #19,386 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #5,083 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 209
- born since 2009
- 2020s
- peak decade
Nelani currently ranks #5083 among girls' names in America, with 209 babies recorded since 2009.
Nelani has 209 recorded births among girls since 2009, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #5083 as of the latest data, more common than 71% of girls, busiest in the 2020s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 2009 to 2025.
- #19,386 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #5,083 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 209 born since 2009
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Nelani ranks #19,386 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #5,083 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 209 born since 2009, peaking in the 2020s.
- #19,386 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #5,083 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 209
- born since 2009
- 2020s
- peak decade
Nelani's 209 recorded births place it above 73.19% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Nelani compares
209 38th percentile among 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
Nelani's all-time total is 44% below the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Nelani | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 209 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 27 | 21 | 19,840 |
Nelani's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Nelani's SSA record in two at 2018 and the more recent half accounts for 72% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 28%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 2009, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 2020 peak of 27, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Nelani popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2009–2025
- Peak year (2020)
- 27
- Annual births at peak, across 17 years of records
Nelani by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (119 births, 57% of the file).
2020s was Nelani's strongest decade.
119 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 57% of all-time use.
Nelani births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 2000s 5
2000s
5 births
- 2010s
2010s
85 births
- 2020s
2020s
119 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 119 births (57% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Nelani
Nearby Names Like Nelani
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Nelani
Compare Nelani side by side: Nelani vs Nellie Nelani vs Nell Nelani vs Nelda
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Nelani
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Nelani: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2020)
Similar record span (~16 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, 2009–2025 (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 Nelani 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.