Name Awesome

Nao

UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Straight, direct or center

Nao has been given to 118 babies in the U.S. since 1980. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1998, with 11 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 81% girls, 19% boys all-time.

Babies named Nao, 2021

1 in 678,000

Nao over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05101518801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Nao over time

In 2023, Nao went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19802023

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Nao: meaning, origin, and history

Straight, direct or center

Japanese

What Nao means

Nao means “straight, direct or center”.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Nao is used in Japanese.

Another recorded pronunciation is /nä.o̞/ for Nao.

Origin, language, and formation

Nao is used in English. Its origins include Japanese.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 95 girls were recorded with the name Nao between 1980 and 2021. Its highest annual count was 11 in 1998; its best national rank was #8,400 in 1998.

In the United States, 23 boys were recorded with the name Nao between 2001 and 2023. Its highest annual count was 7 in 2023; its best national rank was #10,462 in 2023.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Nao?

Nao had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2021, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2021
1 in 678,000
5 of 3,389,958 births
Among girls only
1 in 328,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2021
Unranked
Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size
469,949 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Nao sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2021 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 469,949 children born in 2021 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Nao. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Naos were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Nao was born before 1998 — so the typical Nao is around 27 today.

Median birth year
1998
About 27 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
31.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
66.3%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
95
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 31.6% of all recorded uses (30).

Is Nao rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
0%
Peak was 1998 (11)
Years since peak
27
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
48.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#8,400
1998

Nao around the world

Where Nao ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2004–2004
    #4,598
    in 2004
  • France
    1997–2025
    #2,716
    in 2025
  • South Australia
    1990–2004
    #700
    in 2004

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Nao by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#8,400
1998
Peak year
1998
11 that year
First recorded
1980
Last recorded
2021
All-time count
95
Count in 2025
Under 5

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#10,462
2023
Peak year
2023
7 that year
First recorded
2001
Last recorded
2023
All-time count
23
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Nao

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

NaomiiNaomeNaokoNaomikaNaolaNaomeeNaoriNaomyNaokiNaomieNaobiNaomiaNaomiroseNaomaNaohmiNaomigraceNaomi

Sibling names for Nao

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Nao

Top names of 1998, Nao's peak yearThe 1990s in fullOther names that peaked in 1998Girls' names starting with N