Neymar
Masculine
Neymar is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 2,897 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Neymar is a Brazilian coinage, and its bearer's father was the first to carry it — which makes the name two generations old.
How old is the name Neymar?
Neymar first appears in US birth records in 2010 — 15 years ago. The typical Neymar is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 2,900 people named Neymar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Neymar most popular?
Neymar peaked in 2014, reaching #551 nationally. Today it ranks #2516, 1,965 places below that high. See the whole 2014 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Neymar
Our story of Neymar is a story of a name two generations old. Brazilian naming has long built new given names from parents' names, place names and pure sound, and Neymar was coined for the footballer's father before it passed to the son. The son's career then carried the name worldwide, and it appears in American and European records from the 2010s. There is no older word behind it, and that is the whole account.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No documented etymology. It is a modern Brazilian coinage, probably built from parents' names as Brazilian naming often does. Attributions to older languages are not supported. Honest sources record it as a recent invention.
Pronouncing Neymar
nay-MAR
Two syllables, stress on the second. Brazilian Portuguese says it the same way.
Nicknames for Neymar
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
- 2010
- Most boys named
- 2014499 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #551reached in 2014
- Change vs 2024
- −14.5%53 in 2025, from 62
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.
Neymar in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Neymar in Portuguese — same name
- Neimar in Spanish — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Neymars among us
people named Neymar are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 32,228 born in 2025 was named Neymar
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 Ronaldo test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Neymar's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ronaldo climbed just as high around 1998, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ronaldo's path sketches the road Neymar is walking now.
Neymar 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 Neymar is headed
Neymar is easing off slowly — about 19% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
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.
Neymar beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Neymar in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That the name is only two generations old is genuinely unusual and documentable.
- Ney is available as a short form with real use.
- The end stress gives it a strong rhythm against a front-stressed surname.
- There is no inherited meaning.
- One footballer dominates the association entirely.
- It reads as specifically Brazilian.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Neymar
Masculine · #2516 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Neymars are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,900 people named Neymar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Neymar in 2025?
- Neymar ranks #2516 among US boy names in 2025, with 53 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Neymar?
- About 1 in every 32,228 US boys born in 2025 was named Neymar — 53 in all.
- Will my child share the name Neymar with classmates?
- Neymar will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Neymar
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Austen#2516 · Jariel#2516 · Tahir#2516 · Alphonse#2516 · Saleem#2516 · Rye#2516 · Stuart#2516 · Jovi#2516
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Neymar? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Neymar and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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