Ngozi
Feminine · “blessing (Igbo)”
Ngozi is given to both — 512 girls and 26 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Ngozi is the Igbo word for a blessing, one of the most familiar Igbo names in Nigeria and among Nigerians abroad. It opens with a sound English uses all the time but never at the start of a word: the ng of sing.
How old is the name Ngozi?
Ngozi first appears in US birth records in 1971 — 54 years ago. The typical Ngozi alive today was born around 1996, making them about 29 years old. About 500 people named Ngozi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ngozi most popular?
Ngozi peaked in 1981, reaching #4746 nationally. See the whole 1981 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Ngozi
Igbo names state their meaning plainly, and Ngozi states it in one word. Two Nigerian women have made it known far beyond Nigeria. The economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, twice Nigeria's finance minister, became Director-General of the World Trade Organization in 2021, the first woman and the first African to lead it. The novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah, carries it as her middle name.
Meaning
blessing (Igbo)
Ngozi is the ordinary Igbo noun for a blessing. It also appears inside longer names, such as Ngozichukwu, 'blessing of God.'
Pronouncing Ngozi
n-GOH-zee
A short ng hum, then GOH-zee. Igbo is a tonal language and the tones belong to the name; many English speakers simplify the opening to a plain n.
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
- 1971
- Most girls named
- 199720 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4746reached in 1981
- Change vs 2023
- 0.0%7 in 2024, from 7
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.
Ngozis among us
people named Ngozi are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Ngozi sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- A clear, settled meaning in Igbo: blessing.
- Carried by two internationally known Nigerian women.
- Well known in Nigerian communities and rare elsewhere in the United States.
- The opening ng is new to most English speakers, and some will drop the n or say n-GOZ-ee; expect to teach it.
- It is given mostly to girls in the American record, so a boy called Ngozi will usually be taken for a girl outside the family.
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Ngozi
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Ngozis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Ngozi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ngozi in 2025?
- Ngozi is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Ngozi with classmates?
- Ngozi will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More N names
The most-given names starting with N, all years combined.
Nancy#965 · Nicole#382 · Natalie#89 · Norma#2002 · Nora#20 · Naomi#47 · Nellie#533 · Nina#324
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ngozi? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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