Recorded 1979–2025 · United States
Nala was most popular in 2019, when 428 American babies were given the name — ranking #1,293 that year. In 2025 it ranked #1,626, with 317 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 6,138 people named Nala.
Nala first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1979, which makes it about 46 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 33 of the 47 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 6,138 American births named Nala between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 6,093 are estimated to be alive today.
317 American babies were named Nala in 2025, ranking #1,626 that year.
Nala is rising. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 350 births a year, against 237 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +48% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Nala is a girl’s name — 100.0% of the 6,138 Americans given it were girls and 0.0% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 6,093 Americans named Nala are alive today — 99% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 9 years old, and half are between 5 and 14. That is a narrow band because Nala is a young name — it only became common recently, so almost everyone carrying it is still a child or a young adult.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Nala on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org