Recorded 1971–2025 · United States
Nairobi was most popular in 2021, when 242 American babies were given the name — ranking #1,958 that year. In 2025 it ranked #3,405, with 106 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 1,596 people named Nairobi.
Nairobi first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1971, which makes it about 54 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 40 of the 55 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 1,596 American births named Nairobi between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 1,583 are estimated to be alive today.
106 American babies were named Nairobi in 2025, ranking #3,405 that year.
Nairobi is rising. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 179 births a year, against 13 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of +1259% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Nairobi is a girl’s name — 97.8% of the 1,596 Americans given it were girls and 2.2% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 100% girls and 0% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 1,583 Americans named Nairobi are alive today — 99% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 5 years old, and half are between 3 and 8. That is a narrow band because Nairobi is a young name — it only became common recently, so almost everyone carrying it is still a child or a young adult.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Nairobi on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org