Given name & surname

Nakia

“one who is pure; chaste”

Nakia is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “one who is pure; chaste.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

One Arabic interpretation is “one who is pure; chaste.”

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1973. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Nakia through the years

Babies since 1880
10,744
2,006 boys · 8,738 girls
Most popular year
1974
1,748 babies
2025
8
#11,617 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20
−12%
Easing
Boys Girls
0200400600800198020002025Highest share 1974Boys 0.0Girls 5.0
Nakia in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1973–2025, per million births of each sex. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Boys, girls and both

The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 7% boys.

Boys Girls
0%50%100%198020002020
Five-year rolling share of U.S. births. Blank stretches had too few births to read.

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,617 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 25.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,135 in 1974. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,260 as a first name in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Nakia’s family of names

Nakia has a related form in Nakiya. Nakia has a related form in Nakeya. Nakia has a related form in Nakiyah.

Walk Nakia’s family in the name graph

NakiaΝάκιαNakiyaNakiyahNakeyaNakyaNakeaNakiahNakeyiaNakieaNakiayaNakeyahNakyahNakeahKia

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 12

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Show 4 moreShow fewer

Spellings & scripts 1

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Across languages 1

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

People named Nakia

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Appears in

Similar names

If you love Nakia, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Arabic

Khalilah

“a beloved friend”

25RareRising

>99% girls

Arabic

Karima

“one who is generous and noble”

19Very rareEasing

>99% girls

Arabic

Jamila

“a beautiful and elegant lady”

42UncommonSteady

>99% girls

Arabic

Rana

“an eyecatching, beautiful object” · “an eye-catching woman; to gaze upon”

35RareSteady

15% boys · 85% girls

Arabic

Talitha

“a maiden; young girl”

30RareEasing

>99% girls

Arabic

Farrah

“fair-haired woman” · “one who bears the burden”

45UncommonEasing

>99% girls

Arabic

Roula

Roula is a feminine given name from Arabic. It is used in French.

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

English · Royal

Candy

“a queen” · “one who is white and glowing”

26RareEasing

>99% girls

Sibling ideas

Names that share Nakia’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Nakia

A sister for Nakia