Nils

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Nils is a Scandinavian given name, a chiefly Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Latvian variant of Niels, cognate to Nicholas.

From Wikipedia

Nils first appears in the data in 1888 and has been recorded in 115 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1970 with 48 babies (rank #1,202 that year). In 2024 it was given to 20 boys (rank #4,979). Its popularity has been fairly steady recently.

Numerology of Nils

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Nils yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

9Destiny numberThe humanitarianIdealistic, compassionate, thinks in big-picture terms.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
9Soul urgeThe humanitarianIdealistic, compassionate, thinks in big-picture terms.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
9PersonalityThe humanitarianIdealistic, compassionate, thinks in big-picture terms.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

3,061

Total babies (all years)

115

Years in the data

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Famous people named Nils

Nils Gustaf Dalénindustrialist · b. 1869
Nils Liedholmbandy player · b. 1922
Nils Petersenassociation football player · b. 1988
Nils-Aslak Valkeapäärecording artist · b. 1943
Nils Edénuniversity teacher · b. 1871

Share your Nils story

Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near Nils in 2024

Other boys' names starting with N

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1888	7	#889
1907	6	#1,293
1912	10	#1,705
1913	13	#1,560
1914	16	#1,589
1915	23	#1,440
1916	22	#1,535
1917	21	#1,626
1918	18	#1,881
1919	20	#1,741
1920	18	#1,940
1921	20	#1,809
1922	14	#2,312
1923	13	#2,411
1924	23	#1,663
1925	17	#1,988
1926	20	#1,770
1927	13	#2,380
1928	26	#1,475
1929	31	#1,287
1930	25	#1,488
1931	26	#1,381
1932	33	#1,195
1933	31	#1,195
1934	40	#1,036
1935	27	#1,319
1936	26	#1,315
1937	25	#1,365
1938	31	#1,193
1939	22	#1,448
1940	28	#1,283
1941	25	#1,364
1942	27	#1,350
1943	16	#1,885
1944	31	#1,205
1945	23	#1,401
1946	28	#1,350
1947	25	#1,509
1948	37	#1,188
1949	32	#1,291
1950	35	#1,230
1951	18	#1,815
1952	33	#1,312
1953	27	#1,470
1954	42	#1,163
1955	34	#1,307
1956	32	#1,375
1957	36	#1,313
1958	29	#1,470
1959	30	#1,457
1960	29	#1,513
1961	36	#1,343
1962	36	#1,307
1963	39	#1,248
1964	33	#1,380
1965	31	#1,400
1966	44	#1,123
1967	30	#1,402
1968	32	#1,381
1969	41	#1,246
1970	48	#1,202
1971	34	#1,489
1972	25	#1,808
1973	23	#1,911
1974	32	#1,572
1975	30	#1,691
1976	26	#1,915
1977	23	#2,108
1978	31	#1,744
1979	38	#1,556
1980	38	#1,584
1981	24	#2,180
1982	24	#2,194
1983	27	#1,999
1984	26	#2,083
1985	32	#1,858
1986	32	#1,905
1987	23	#2,439
1988	24	#2,490
1989	26	#2,526
1990	35	#2,115
1991	28	#2,526
1992	31	#2,394
1993	35	#2,246
1994	35	#2,286
1995	26	#2,821
1996	34	#2,366
1997	29	#2,732
1998	23	#3,363
1999	39	#2,329
2000	29	#3,052
2001	39	#2,514
2002	30	#3,066
2003	23	#3,812
2004	18	#4,724
2005	25	#3,788
2006	31	#3,433
2007	23	#4,324
2008	24	#4,227
2009	23	#4,387
2010	31	#3,509
2011	18	#5,136
2012	26	#3,974
2013	25	#4,031
2014	22	#4,489
2015	20	#4,840
2016	21	#4,722
2017	18	#5,241
2018	25	#4,184
2019	20	#4,920
2020	20	#4,808
2021	14	#6,242
2022	15	#6,062
2023	24	#4,425
2024	20	#4,979