Neftali
Masculine · “my struggle”
Neftali is given to both — 2,290 boys and 387 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Neftali is the Spanish form of Naphtali, and the name records an argument. Genesis gives it to a son of Jacob with an explanation attached: his mother named him for the struggle she had been having, and said so plainly.
How old is the name Neftali?
Neftali first appears in US birth records in 1953 — 72 years ago. The typical Neftali alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 2,200 people named Neftali are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Neftali most popular?
Neftali peaked in 1997, reaching #1580 nationally. Today it ranks #2765, 1,185 places below that high. See the whole 1997 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Naftali to Neftali
The story of Neftali
Naphtali is the sixth son of Jacob and the tribe descended from him, given territory in the north of Canaan around the Sea of Galilee. The name went into Greek and Latin with the scriptures and from there into Spanish as Neftalí, where it became an ordinary given name in a way it never quite did in English. It reaches United States records almost entirely from Spanish-speaking families, particularly from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, where the whole Hebrew stock of names is in far wider everyday use than in English-speaking countries.
Meaning
my struggle; my wrestling
Hebrew Naftali is built on the root p-t-l, which carries twisting and wrestling. The book of Genesis supplies the reading itself: Rachel names the child with a phrase about the struggles she has wrestled with her sister. Biblical name-explanations are often wordplay rather than strict etymology, but this one is close enough to the root that it holds.
How the name formed
- Naftali
- Nephthaleim
- Neftalí
- Neftali
Related forms: Naftali · Naphtali · Neftalí · Neftali
Pronouncing Neftali
nef-tah-LEE
Three syllables with the stress on the last, in both Hebrew and Spanish — the accent on the Spanish Neftalí marks it. English speakers move it forward to NEF-tuh-lee, which is a different shape.
Nicknames for Neftali
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
- 1953
- Most boys named
- 200964 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1580reached in 1997
- Change vs 2024
- +84.0%46 in 2025, from 25
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.
Neftali in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Naftali in Hebrew — same name
- Naphtali in English — same name
- Neftalí in Spanish — spelling variant
- Neftali in Portuguese — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Neftalis among us
people named Neftali are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 37,132 born in 2025 was named Neftali
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Laszlo test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Neftali's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Laszlo climbed just as high around 1966, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Laszlo's path sketches the road Neftali is walking now.
Neftali 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 Neftali is headed
Neftali should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Neftali beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Neftali in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented biblical name with its meaning explained in the text itself.
- Tali and Neff are ready short forms in two different languages.
- Familiar and ordinary in Spanish-speaking countries rather than exotic there.
- English speakers will move the stress to the front and shorten the ending.
- The accent in Neftalí is usually dropped in American records, which changes how it reads.
- Its meaning is a struggle, which some families find honest and others would rather not carry.
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What they receive
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Neftali
Masculine · #2765 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Neftalis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,200 people named Neftali are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Neftali in 2025?
- Neftali ranks #2765 among US boy names in 2025, with 46 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Neftali?
- About 1 in every 37,132 US boys born in 2025 was named Neftali — 46 in all.
- Will my child share the name Neftali with classmates?
- Neftali will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Neftali
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Stephon#2765 · Jafet#2765 · Dwight#2765 · Sheldon#2765 · Mills#2765 · Asante#2765 · Arlin#2765 · Yandel#2765
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Neftali? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Neftali and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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