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Nia

Nia: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“purpose”
Origin
Swahili
Say it
NEE-uh · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls

A Swahili word-name meaning 'purpose', known from Kwanzaa's seven principles. Nia also occurs as a name in other cultures with different origins.

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How popular is Nia?

2024129 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Nia in 2024428

2024 rank#672 girls

Peak year2001

Total US babies since 188025,023

Nia has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Nia

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Nyahprobably variant of Nia or Niah · American (modern coinage)
  • Zuribeautiful · Swahili
  • Nyapurpose · Swahili

Nia questions

What does the name Nia mean?

Nia means "purpose". It comes from Swahili. A Swahili word-name meaning 'purpose', known from Kwanzaa's seven principles. Nia also occurs as a name in other cultures with different origins.

Is Nia a boy or girl name?

Nia is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Nia?

428 US babies were named Nia in 2024. Its peak year was 2001.

How do you pronounce Nia?

Nia is usually pronounced NEE-uh.

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.