UK name, mostly girls
Neriah
Hebrew origin meaning "light of the Lord" or "lamp of the Lord".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Neriah is mostly registered for girls in the UK records. People looking for Neriah popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #411, with 104 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2024, with 104 births.
This profile covers 737 England and Wales registrations across 20 recorded years from 2005 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
Neriah is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.
We estimate that about 739 living people in the UK are called Neriah. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Neriah ranked #411 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 104 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2024, when 104 girls were registered as Neriah.
- • Neriah ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #531 in 2022.
- • About 739 living people in the UK are estimated to have Neriah as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
- • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 96.6% of Neriah registrations are for girls.
Latest rank (E&W)
#411
2024
Births in 2024
104
Latest year
Peak year
2024
104 births
Estimated living
739
2026
Gender
Boy and girl registrations for Neriah
In England and Wales birth records, Neriah has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 3.4% of registrations are for boys and 96.6% are for girls.
These figures use the sex categories in the published baby-name files. They are useful for spotting how the name is used at registration, but they are not a live measure of gender identity or everyone living with the name today.
Neriah registered for boys
- Ranked #3,254 in 2024
- 6 boys registered in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (7 births)
Neriah registered for girls
- Ranked #411 in 2024
- 104 girls registered in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (104 births)
Meaning
What does Neriah mean?
The name Neriah is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language. It is a combination of two Hebrew words, "ner" meaning "lamp" or "light," and "Yah" which is a form of the Hebrew name for God, "Yahweh." The name Neriah can be translated to mean "light of God" or "lamp of the Lord."
This name has biblical connections and is mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament. Neriah was the name of the father of Baruch, who was a scribe and a companion of the prophet Jeremiah. The name is referenced in Jeremiah 32:12, "And I gave the deed of purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the deed of purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the guard."
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Neriah was a 12th-century French rabbi and scholar, known as Neriah ben Melech. He was a prominent figure in the Jewish community of Narbonne, France, and was renowned for his expertise in Talmudic studies.
In the 16th century, there was a notable Jewish scholar and kabbalist named Neriah Mizrahi, who lived in Safed, in the Galilee region of present-day Israel. He was a disciple of the famous kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria, and was known for his contributions to the study of Jewish mysticism.
Another historical figure with the name Neriah was Neriah ben Yaakov, a 17th-century rabbi and scholar from Amsterdam. He was a respected authority on Jewish law and is known for his work, "Shevet Mussar," which was a commentary on the Talmudic tractate of Bava Kamma.
In more recent times, there was an Israeli painter and sculptor named Neriah Zinger, who was born in 1929 and passed away in 2017. He was known for his abstract expressionist paintings and his contributions to the Israeli art scene in the latter half of the 20th century.
Another notable individual with the name Neriah was Neriah Gurevitch, who was born in 1926 and passed away in 2005. He was an Israeli physicist and professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, known for his work in the field of nuclear physics and his contributions to the development of nuclear energy in Israel.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Neriah over time
The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Neriah in England and Wales, from 2005 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Neriah, the clearest high point is 2024. The latest England and Wales figure is 104 births in 2024, compared with 104 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neriah by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Neriah was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #605 | 344 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1061 | 357 | 10 |
| 2000s | #3283 | 36 | 5 |
Geography
Where Neriah is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Neriah. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Neriah ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #531 in 2022.
Across the UK
Neriah in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#531 in 2022
1 years of NRS records, 5 total registered
Related
Names similar to Neriah
- Niamh 20,347
- Nicole 19,687
- Natasha 15,578
- Nancy 12,607
- Naomi 12,199
- Natalie 10,885
- Nevaeh 7,869
- Nina 7,285
- Neve 7,180
- Natalia 7,099
- Nadia 6,032
- Nicola 4,927
FAQ
Neriah: questions and answers
How popular is the name Neriah in the UK right now?
In 2024, Neriah was ranked #411 for girls in England and Wales, with 104 births registered.
When was Neriah most popular?
The peak year on record was 2024, with 104 babies registered as Neriah in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Neriah?
Hebrew origin meaning "light of the Lord" or "lamp of the Lord".
How many people are called Neriah in the UK?
A total of 737 babies have been registered as Neriah across the 20 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 5 more in Scotland.
Where is Neriah most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Neriah ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #531 in 2022. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.