Humanverse

Neah vs Nealie

American parents have registered 793 Nealies since 1880, against 554 Neahs. But in 2025 it was Neah that was commoner, 7 babies to fewer than five.

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Births per year: Neah against Nealie, 1880 to 2025 0 8 16 24 32 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Neah Nealie

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 107 years in which either name was published, Nealie for 72 years and Neah for 35 years. The lead changed hands 3 times.

Side by side

  Neah Nealie
Total US births 554793
Most in one year 3022
Babies in 2025 7under 5
Estimated living today 550120
Median age today 1455
Peak year 20061916
Best rank 4,685th girls1,630th girls
Rank in 2025 11,932ndunranked
First recorded 19801880
Girls / boys 554 / 0776 / 17

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Nealies alive today are over 55; half the Neahs are over 14. That is 41 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

Compare something else

Related comparisons

Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Neah and Nealie.