| Nia | Zuri | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Purpose | Beautiful |
| Origin | swahili | swahili |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | NEE-ah | ZOO-ree |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| First appeared | 0 | 1971 |
| Peak year | 2000 (1,033) | 2022 (1,523) |
| In 2025 | 0 | 932 |
| Trend | Vintage | Rising |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Nia | Zuri |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 2,932 | 7,795 |
| 2010s | 6,546 | 7,024 |
| 2000s | 8,571 | 1,239 |
| 1990s | 5,283 | 522 |
| 1980s | 1,198 | 208 |
| 1970s | 788 | 56 |
| 1960s | 85 | 0 |
| 1950s | 19 | 0 |
Swahili, 'purpose, intention,' from Arabic niyya. Also one of the seven Kwanzaa principles. Chiefly feminine.
Swahili, 'beautiful,' from the adjective -zuri ('good, beautiful'; cf. nzuri, uzuri 'beauty'). Chiefly feminine. A sometimes-cited Basque meaning ('white') is weakly sourced.
Zuri is more popular than Nia today: about 932 US babies were given the name Zuri in 2025, compared with 0 named Nia.
Nia means Purpose (swahili origin), while Zuri means Beautiful (swahili origin).
In US records, Nia first appears in 0 and Zuri in 1971, so Nia has the longer recorded history.