Nehemiah
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Meaning
"comforted by Yahweh"
The story
Nehemiah is a Hebrew name meaning comforted by Yahweh, a small statement of faith carried in every use. It belongs to one of the quiet heroes of the Bible: Nehemiah, cupbearer to a Persian king, who left the comfort of the court to rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem, organizing the work and defending it against every discouragement, with a whole book of scripture bearing his name. So the name carries a story of restoration, of putting a ruined thing back together with patience and grit. It has the rolling, musical shape of the great biblical names and shortens warmly to Ne or Miah. In the United States Nehemiah reads as current as it has ever been, cherished in faith-filled families and beyond. Rich, rhythmic and purposeful, Nehemiah hands a child a builder and a comforter, and a reminder that broken things can be made whole.
How popular is Nehemiah around the world?
In the United States, 4,638 babies were named Nehemiah between 2020 and 2025.
Nehemiah is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, England and Wales and Canada.
United States
1 in 4,700
In the United States, 4,638 babies were named Nehemiah between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Nehemiah peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Nehemiah in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 21,000
In England and Wales, 28 boys named Nehemiah were born in 2025, ranked 1,066th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 22,000
In Canada, 17 boys named Nehemiah were born in 2024, ranked 1,331st among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Argentina
last on record 2013
Nehemiah is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2018
Nehemiah is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Ireland
last on record 2024
Nehemiah is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New Zealand
last on record 2023
Nehemiah is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Nehemiah
Most people given the name Nehemiah in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Nehemiah travels
African American · A documented choice in Black American families.
Keep exploring
The Nehemiah deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Nehemiah truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Nehemiah fits with your family’s names and surname.
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