Nala
- #856 for girls in 2025, 317 births
- Peak · girls
- 2019 · 428 births
- Debut · girls
- 5 births
- In top 100 · girls
- neverof 146 years
- Total births · girls
- 6,138since 1979
Nala over time
Rank among girls' names. Nala has never cracked the top 600 here.
Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.
Show data table
| Year | girls | |
|---|---|---|
| rank | births | |
| 2025 | #856 | 317 |
| 2024 | #752 | 375 |
| 2023 | #845 | 320 |
| 2022 | #804 | 351 |
| 2021 | #740 | 385 |
| 2020 | #695 | 406 |
| 2019 | #675 | 428 |
| 2018 | #741 | 374 |
| 2017 | #765 | 362 |
| 2016 | #777 | 365 |
| 2015 | #949 | 286 |
| 2014 | #993 | 267 |
| 2013 | #1,062 | 234 |
| 2012 | #1,055 | 238 |
| 2011 | #1,434 | 158 |
| 2010 | #1,688 | 125 |
| 2009 | #1,889 | 111 |
| 2008 | #1,816 | 119 |
| 2007 | #2,163 | 92 |
| 2006 | #1,961 | 102 |
| 2005 | #2,457 | 71 |
| 2004 | #1,972 | 94 |
| 2003 | #2,203 | 78 |
| 2002 | #3,014 | 48 |
| 2001 | #2,663 | 56 |
| 2000 | #2,817 | 51 |
| 1999 | #2,703 | 51 |
| 1998 | #2,530 | 54 |
| 1997 | #2,391 | 55 |
| 1996 | #2,476 | 51 |
| 1995 | #1,715 | 85 |
| 1994 | #4,238 | 24 |
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| 1979 | #10,210 | 5 |
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The first year at least five girls were named Nala! It came in at #10,210, and was given to 5 baby girls.
Quietest stretch: 1979–1993, when fewer than 6 girls a year got the name.
Where Nala is popular in 2025
- Rank in state
- Top 10
- 11–50
- 51–100
- 101–500
- 501+
- Not published
Hover or tap a state for its numbers.
Show every state
| State | Rank | Births | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | #508 | 5 | 1 in 1,840 |
| Georgia | #560 | 19 | 1 in 2,379 |
| Alabama | #574 | 8 | 1 in 2,290 |
| Florida | #634 | 27 | 1 in 3,213 |
| Indiana | #651 | 9 | 1 in 3,101 |
| Maryland | #651 | 7 | 1 in 2,855 |
| Virginia | #662 | 11 | 1 in 3,067 |
| Illinois | #709 | 13 | 1 in 3,410 |
| Ohio | #711 | 13 | 1 in 3,636 |
| New Jersey | #718 | 10 | 1 in 3,550 |
| North Carolina | #729 | 13 | 1 in 3,576 |
| Michigan | #735 | 10 | 1 in 3,573 |
| Kentucky | #744 | 5 | 1 in 3,450 |
| Tennessee | #748 | 9 | 1 in 3,564 |
| South Carolina | #773 | 5 | 1 in 3,658 |
| Texas | #780 | 38 | 1 in 4,225 |
| Arizona | #818 | 7 | 1 in 4,031 |
| New York | #902 | 17 | 1 in 4,608 |
| California | #908 | 31 | 1 in 5,217 |
| Pennsylvania | #1,392 | 5 | 1 in 9,338 |
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Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.
See more about Nala
- 161 spots since 2020 (#695 → #856)
- 93 spots since 2015 (#949 → #856)
- Biggest jump: 172 spots in 2016
- Biggest drop: 104 spots in 2025
- Debuted 1979
- Peaked 2019 at #675 (428 births)
- Not yet halved from its peak
- Top 10: never
- Top 100: never
- Top 1,000: 12 yrs · run 2014–2025
- Highest: 1 in 3,921 girls born in 2019 were named Nala (0.03%)
- Latest: 1 in 5,070 girls born in 2025 (0.02%)
- 46.2% of all girls named Nala (2,837) were born in this decade
Show by decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank | Avg rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5 | #10,210 (1979) | #10,210 |
| 1980s | 0 | — | — |
| 1990s | 320 | #1,715 (1995) | #2,676 |
| 2000s | 822 | #1,816 (2008) | #2,296 |
| 2010s | 2,837 | #675 (2019) | #1,014 |
| 2020s | 2,154 | #695 (2020) | #782 |
All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.
Want to check a specific year?
See where Nala ranked and which names it was up against. Click a point on the chart, or pick a year: