Naima
Feminine · “tranquility”
Naima is tranquility in Arabic — and it is also the title of a Coltrane ballad written for his wife, one of the most-covered pieces in jazz.
How old is the name Naima?
Naima first appears in US birth records in 1969 — 56 years ago. The typical Naima alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 4,700 people named Naima are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Naima most popular?
Naima peaked in 2006, reaching #890 nationally. Today it ranks #2017, 1,127 places below that high. See the whole 2006 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From na'ima to Naima
The story of Naima
John Coltrane wrote Naima in 1959 for his first wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs, and played it at nearly every concert for the rest of his life; it closes Giant Steps. The name is ordinary across Arabic and Swahili-speaking regions. It appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
tranquility, ease, blessing
From the Arabic na'ima, from the root n-'-m, which carries ease, softness, comfort and blessing. Na'im is a name for paradise in the Qur'an. The root also gives ni'mah, a divine favor. The Arabic is ordinary and the meaning documented.
How the name formed
- na'ima
- Naima
Related forms: نعيمة · Naima · Naeema
Pronouncing Naima
nah-EE-mah
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Arabic has a throat consonant between the first two vowels that English omits.
Nicknames for Naima
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1969
- Most girls named
- 2007305 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #890reached in 2006
- Change vs 2024
- +8.0%94 in 2025, from 87
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Naima in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- نعيمة in Arabic — transliteration
- Naima in Swahili — same name
- Naeema in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Naimas among us
people named Naima are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 17,099 born in 2025 was named Naima
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Naima
- #2017
- Naima on the 2025 chart
- #847
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Naima went to 94 girls in 2025, but Naimah is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 113, which makes it the 847th most-given girls’ name of the year — 1,170 places above the chart.
- Naima94
- Naimah19
About 1 girl in 14,224 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 17,099 for Naima itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Marti test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Naima's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Marti climbed just as high around 1969, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Marti's path sketches the road Naima is walking now.
Naima sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Naima is headed
Naima should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Naima beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Naima in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The tranquility meaning is warm and the root ties it to the Qur'anic paradise.
- One of the most-covered ballads in jazz carries it.
- Three syllables of open vowels, which carries unusually well.
- The Arabic ayin is not reproducible in English.
- Several transliterations are in circulation.
- Naomi is close enough in sound to cause confusion.
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What they receive
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Naima
Feminine · #2017 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Naimas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,700 people named Naima are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Naima?
- Naima is the most-used spelling in US records — 94 of the 113 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Naimah.
- How popular is the name Naima in 2025?
- Naima ranks #2017 among US girl names in 2025, with 94 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Naima?
- About 1 in every 17,099 US girls born in 2025 was named Naima — 94 in all.
- Will my child share the name Naima with classmates?
- Naima will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Naima
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Goldy#2017 · Melodie#2017 · Kylani#2017 · Bryn#2017 · Kamilah#2017 · Diamond#2017 · Alyna#2017 · Zion#2017
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Naima? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Naima and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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