Nairobi: name meaning, origin & popularity
- Meaning
- “cool waters”
- Origin
- Unknown
- Say it
- nye-ROH-bee · 3 syllables
- Used for
- Girls (98% of all uses)
Taken from the Kenyan place-name Nairobi, from Maasai Enkare Nairobi, usually interpreted as 'cool waters'. As a given name, it is a modern place-name use.
How popular is Nairobi?
Babies named Nairobi in 2024139
2024 rank#1,533 girls
Peak year2021
Total US babies since 18801,490
Nairobi is rising: use over the last five years is 17.1× what it was a decade earlier.
Names like Nairobi
Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.
- Avauncertain; possibly bird or life · Unknown
- Mayauncertain; often illusion or water · Unknown
- Ailanyuncertain · Unknown
- Alanauncertain; often linked to little rock or handsome · Unknown
- Leiauncertain; often used as a form of Leah · Unknown
- Londonfrom London, place name · Unknown
- Nayeliuncertain; often said to mean I love you · Unknown
- Elorauncertain; perhaps from Eliora or Laura · Unknown
Nairobi questions
What does the name Nairobi mean?
Nairobi means "cool waters". It comes from Unknown. Taken from the Kenyan place-name Nairobi, from Maasai Enkare Nairobi, usually interpreted as 'cool waters'. As a given name, it is a modern place-name use.
Is Nairobi a boy or girl name?
Nairobi is mainly a girl's name in US records (98% of uses since 1880).
How popular is Nairobi?
139 US babies were named Nairobi in 2024. Its peak year was 2021.
How do you pronounce Nairobi?
Nairobi is usually pronounced nye-ROH-bee.
Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.