Swahili name
Nia
means "Purpose, intention"
Arabic-originGirl
Nia is a Swahili name meaning "Purpose, intention". It came into Swahili from Arabic.
Nia means purpose and is one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
How to say it
NEE-ah
The part in capitals is stressed. In Swahili, every vowel is its own sound, and the stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable.
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Questions parents ask about Nia
- What does the name Nia mean?
- Nia is a Swahili name meaning "Purpose, intention". Nia means purpose and is one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
- How do you pronounce Nia?
- Say it NEE-ah. The part in capitals is stressed.
- Where does the name Nia come from?
- Nia is an Arabic-origin name. It came into Swahili from Arabic.
- Is Nia a girl's or a boy's name?
- Nia is usually given to girls.
What do the origin labels mean?
- Bantu-Swahili
- Swahili is a Bantu language, part of a large family of African languages. Bantu-Swahili names come from that original African core of the language.
- Arabic-origin
- Centuries of trade and contact along the East African coast brought many Arabic words and names into Swahili. They are now fully at home in Swahili-speaking families.
- Borrowed (trade-route)
- Swahili also borrowed words from other languages its speakers met through trade across the Indian Ocean.