Nihira
Feminine
Nihira is a recent name used chiefly in Indian and Indian-American families, and it is one where the honest answer about meaning is short: the glosses offered online are not supported by Sanskrit.
How old is the name Nihira?
Nihira first appears in US birth records in 2006 — 19 years ago. The typical Nihira is a kid of about 5 — this name's wave is very recent. About 700 people named Nihira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nihira most popular?
Nihira peaked in 2022, reaching #2364 nationally. Today it ranks #3389, 1,025 places below that high. See the whole 2022 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Nihira
Ours, offered plainly as ours. Indian naming has been doing something in the last twenty years that English-speaking naming did earlier: making new names that sound as though they came out of the classical language without actually doing so. Nihira has the right shape — three light syllables, a Sanskrit-style opening, an -a ending — and no entry in any dictionary. That is not a fault. It is a modern name from a living tradition, and saying so is more respectful than inventing a Sanskrit root for it.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source is established. The name is not attested in classical Sanskrit, and the meanings circulated in name lists do not correspond to any documented word. What is documented is the shape: it belongs to a group of modern Indian coinages built on Sanskrit-sounding syllables — Nihira, Nihira, Nivaan, Niyati — from the last two decades.
Pronouncing Nihira
ni-HEE-rah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Every vowel is sounded.
Nicknames for Nihira
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
- 2006
- Most girls named
- 202278 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2364reached in 2022
- Change vs 2024
- −33.8%45 in 2025, from 68
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.
Nihira in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nihira in Hindi — transliteration
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, North Carolina.
Nihiras among us
people named Nihira are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 35,717 born in 2025 was named Nihira
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 Sherrilynn test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nihira's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sherrilynn climbed just as high around 1963, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sherrilynn's path sketches the road Nihira is walking now.
Nihira 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 Nihira is headed
Nihira 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.
Nihira beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nihira in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Hira sits inside it as a complete name meaning a diamond.
- Open vowels throughout make it easy in English and in Indian languages alike.
- Rare in the records, so it stays distinct on a class list.
- The meanings offered for it online are not supported, and it is better to know that first.
- Nihira, Nihira and Nihaira all appear and the spelling will be asked for.
- It is close enough to Nihira and Nayira to be confused.
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What they receive
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Nihira
Feminine · #3389 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nihiras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Nihira are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nihira in 2025?
- Nihira ranks #3389 among US girl names in 2025, with 45 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nihira?
- About 1 in every 35,717 US girls born in 2025 was named Nihira — 45 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nihira with classmates?
- Nihira will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nihira
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Katheryn#3389 · Posey#3389 · Ronni#3389 · Gittel#3389 · Betsabe#3389 · Germany#3389 · Jaslene#3389 · Lovina#3389
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nihira? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nihira and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
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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