Girl · #2,294 in 2026

Naima

Name: Popularity of the name Naima in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Naima, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

"Naima" is a jazz ballad composed by John Coltrane in 1959 that he named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. Coltrane first recorded it for his 1959 album Giant Steps, and it became one of his first well-known works.

Current Rank

#2,294

Peak Rank

#890 (2007)

Total Babies

5-Yr Trend

-33%

1969

First Year

2026

Last Year

2007

Peak Year

#890

Peak Rank

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Naima

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Origin & history

Coltrane recorded "Naima" many times. It appears on The Complete Copenhagen Concert (1961), Live at the Village Vanguard Again! (1966), Afro Blue Impressions (1977), The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (1997), and Blue World (2019). "Naima" has since become a jazz standard .

The Story of Naima

Naima first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1969, with 9 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2007, when 305 Naimas were born — ranking #902 that year. As of 2026, Naima ranks #2,294 for baby girls with 81 births, falling sharply (-33%). In total, more than 5K Naimas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1960s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Naima

Phonetically similar names — useful when Naima is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Nima
Nama
Noma
Nema
Numa
Pneuma
Naama
Naamah
Nyma
Namma
Name
Names

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Naima

What does the name Naima mean?

How popular is Naima in 2026?

In 2026, Naima ranks #2,294 among girls' names in the U.S., with 81 babies given the name that year.

When was Naima most popular?

Naima reached its peak popularity in 2007, ranking #890 that year with 305 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Naima most popular?

Naima has historically been most popular in District of Columbia, Minnesota, Connecticut. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Naima.

Is Naima a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Naima is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Naima?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Naima include Dorthea, Angella, Marti. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Naima

Naima is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1969 and has accumulated 5K births in the dataset. Naima's peak popularity came in 2007 when it ranked #890. Use the chart and map above to compare Naima's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.