Nivea
Feminine · “Latin nivea”
Nivea means snowy. The Latin adjective niveus comes from nix, snow, and it survives in French neige, Spanish nieve and Italian neve. The cream took the name in 1911 for its whiteness, and for most people that is now the only place the word appears.
How old is the name Nivea?
Nivea first appears in US birth records in 1975 — 50 years ago. The typical Nivea alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 1,300 people named Nivea are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nivea most popular?
Nivea peaked in 2003, reaching #1970 nationally. Today it ranks #9457, 7,487 places below that high. See the whole 2003 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From nix to Nivea
The story of Nivea
Latin nix, snow, is a well-behaved Indo-European word with relatives across the family: Greek nipha, German Schnee, English snow, Russian sneg. Its Latin descendants went into the Romance languages as neige, nieve, neve and nea, and English borrowed the adjective as nival and niveous, both now rare. What is unusual is where the word ended up in general awareness. Beiersdorf, a Hamburg firm, patented a stable water-in-oil emulsion in 1911 and named it Nivea for its color, and the brand became one of the most widely distributed in the world. So a Latin adjective that English speakers almost never meet in any other context is nonetheless recognized instantly by billions, in a blue tin, which is a fair description of how most Latin survives now.
Meaning
Latin nivea, snowy or snow-white
Nivea is the feminine of Latin niveus, snowy or snow-white, from nix, nivis, snow. The skin cream was named in 1911 by the Hamburg company Beiersdorf for the whiteness of the emulsion. As a given name the American peak of 2003 follows both the brand and an American singer who used the name. The peak is 2003.
How the name formed
- nix
- niveus
- Nivea
Related forms: Nivea · Nivea
Pronouncing Nivea
nih-VAY-ah
Three syllables, stress on the second. The brand is said NIV-ee-ah in English and nee-VEH-ah in German, so both are heard.
Nicknames for Nivea
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
- 1975
- Most girls named
- 200392 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1970reached in 2003
- Change vs 2024
- −33.3%10 in 2025, from 15
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.
Nivea in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nivea in Latin — same name
- Nivea in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, Georgia, Illinois.
Niveas among us
people named Nivea are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 160,727 born in 2025 was named Nivea
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 Sanda test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nivea's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sanda climbed just as high around 1946, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sanda's path sketches the road Nivea is walking now.
Nivea 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
Nivea beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nivea in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The Latin meaning is clear and attractive.
- Three syllables with an open, even rhythm.
- Via works as a short form.
- A very well known brand carries the name.
- The pronunciation varies between speakers.
- The 2003 peak dates it to a narrow window.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Nivea to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Nivea? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Nivea
Feminine · #9457 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Niveas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Nivea are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nivea in 2025?
- Nivea ranks #9457 among US girl names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nivea?
- About 1 in every 160,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Nivea — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nivea with classmates?
- Nivea will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nivea
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Leta#9457 · Inga#9457 · Delphia#9457 · Cammie#9457 · Lisandra#9457 · Amee#9457 · Venecia#9457 · Annetta#9457
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nivea? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nivea and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
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
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle