# Nila (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/nila/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “of a dark colour”, “blue”, “black” |
| Pronunciation | /nilə/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Neela |
| US babies named this | 7,136 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 0 / 7,136 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 477, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Sanskrit नील (nīla, “of a dark colour; blue; black”), Bengali নীলা (nila, “blue”), or related words in other Indian subcontinent languages.

## What it means

Nila is grouped under black.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 91 | 2,117 |
| 2012 | 100 | 1,969 |
| 2013 | 107 | 1,887 |
| 2014 | 110 | 1,849 |
| 2015 | 117 | 1,789 |
| 2016 | 105 | 1,924 |
| 2017 | 127 | 1,693 |
| 2018 | 120 | 1,724 |
| 2019 | 125 | 1,681 |
| 2020 | 110 | 1,803 |
| 2021 | 108 | 1,856 |
| 2022 | 144 | 1,513 |
| 2023 | 103 | 1,931 |
| 2024 | 122 | 1,680 |
| 2025 | 116 | 1,754 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 9 | 2,636 |
| 2012 | 12 | 2,215 |
| 2013 | 15 | 1,864 |
| 2014 | 13 | 2,058 |
| 2015 | 14 | 1,961 |
| 2016 | 16 | 1,834 |
| 2017 | 24 | 1,371 |
| 2018 | 19 | 1,586 |
| 2019 | 24 | 1,316 |
| 2020 | 41 | 872 |
| 2021 | 33 | 1,039 |
| 2022 | 49 | 746 |
| 2023 | 41 | 865 |
| 2024 | 44 | 837 |
| 2025 | 64 | 610 |

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.