Fun Facts About the Name Nehemias
- More than 1 thousand babies named Nehemias: U.S. records list 1,891 babies given the name Nehemias from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Nehemias Mean?
Nehemias is a Latin form of the biblical Hebrew name Neḥemyah (נְחֶמְיָה), whose meaning is usually given as "Yahweh has comforted" or "Yahweh comforts." It joins a verb from the root nḥm (נִחַם, "to comfort, console, be sorry") with the short divine name Yāh (יָהּ), a poetic abbreviation of the four-letter name YHWH. The sense is a statement about God's action, not a description of the person who bears it.
The same Hebrew name appears in Greek as Neemias (Νεεμίας) in the Septuagint and in the related book of 1 Esdras, and in Latin as Nehemias, the spelling used in Jerome's Vulgate. The form "Nehemias" as spelled here follows that Latin tradition. English Bibles and English speakers generally use Nehemiah for the same biblical figure, a spelling that stays closer to the Hebrew ending -yāh.
Nehemias Name History & Origins
The name is best known from the biblical Book of Nehemiah, whose central figure was a Jewish official at the Persian court. He served as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I and was later appointed governor of the province of Yehud. According to the book's first-person account, he came to Jerusalem and organized the rebuilding of its city wall, work the text places in the mid-fifth century BCE. Other men of the same name appear in the period: one was among the leaders who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 7:7), one sealed the covenant in Nehemiah 10, and Nehemiah son of Azbuk governed half the district of Beth-zur (Nehemiah 3:16).
Greek-speaking Jews knew the name as Neemias (Νεεμίας), the form found in the Septuagint and in 1 Esdras. Jerome's Latin Vulgate, completed in the early fifth century, used Nehemias, and this Latin spelling carried the name through Western Christian literature, lectionaries, and chronicles. From Latin it passed into the Romance languages: Spanish Nehemías, Portuguese Neemias, and the Italian book name Neemia. Eastern Christian traditions that read the Greek Bible kept Neemias.
In Western Europe the Vulgate supplied both the biblical text and its name forms, so Nehemias entered Christian personal naming alongside other scriptural names. The related forms in Spanish and Portuguese have remained in use as given names, while the Latin spelling survives mainly in scholarly, liturgical, and historical writing.
How Popular is the Name Nehemias?
Nehemias has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #1,550 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,550 | 111 | 0.0065% |
| 2024 | #1,645 | 103 | 0.0060% |
| 2023 | #1,690 | 101 | 0.0059% |
| 2022 | #2,013 | 76 | 0.0044% |
| 2021 | #1,821 | 86 | 0.0049% |
| 2020 | #1,796 | 84 | 0.0049% |
| 2019 | #1,617 | 102 | 0.0057% |
| 2018 | #1,637 | 100 | 0.0055% |
| 2017 | #1,591 | 102 | 0.0055% |
| 2016 | #1,748 | 89 | 0.0047% |
| 2015 | #1,776 | 86 | 0.0045% |
| 2014 | #1,953 | 74 | 0.0039% |
| 2013 | #2,219 | 59 | 0.0031% |
| 2012 | #2,374 | 54 | 0.0028% |
| 2011 | #2,014 | 68 | 0.0036% |
| 2010 | #2,618 | 47 | 0.0024% |
| 2009 | #2,736 | 45 | 0.0023% |
| 2008 | #2,664 | 47 | 0.0023% |
| 2007 | #2,328 | 56 | 0.0027% |
| 2006 | #2,029 | 66 | 0.0032% |
| 2005 | #2,832 | 38 | 0.0019% |
| 2004 | #4,548 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2003 | #3,930 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 2002 | #3,743 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2001 | #3,690 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2000 | #4,024 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1999 | #4,946 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1998 | #4,345 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1997 | #5,547 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1996 | #5,844 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1995 | #5,024 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1994 | #4,465 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1993 | #5,662 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1992 | #5,532 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1991 | #5,389 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1990 | #9,080 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1989 | #6,720 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #6,994 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #5,303 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #3,610 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1983 | #4,057 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1982 | #6,160 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #6,964 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #6,960 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1976 | #4,295 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1973 | #5,632 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1968 | #3,995 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Nehemias Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a vivid imagination who can bring inspired messages to the world. You like to enjoy the pleasures of life, and when self is overcome, you can rise to the heights. You have an ability to avoid trouble - that is why you often fails to learn from experiences. You are restless, sociable people-oriented, a lover of change, and a seeker of adventure and new thrills. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
You are always looking for an opportunity to achieve financial and emotional security. You are basically peacemaker. You understand the law of harmony and desire to balance your life with those around you. You may feel incomplete without someone to share your love, ideals, wealth or work. You can be very sensitive and could appear a bit shy and perceptive. You have developed intuition, patience and the ability to nurture others. You can achieve the state of happiness if you are willing to accept your needs in a complimentary relationship and go to create them.
✦ Nehemias's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Nehemias's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.