Nyah is a modern American spelling of Nia, a name that means "purpose" in Swahili and "brightness" in Welsh. It arrived at the turn of the century, helped by Thandie Newton's character Nyah Nordoff-Hall in Mission: Impossible 2 (2000). Nyah peaked at number 504 in 2001, right after the film, then drifted out of the US top 1000 and ranks number 2293 in 2025.