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Nil

#8,213 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Transliteration of Neil

Nil has been given to 280 babies in the U.S. since 2013. In 2025 it ranked #8,213 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2017, with 19 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 56% girls, 44% boys all-time.

Babies named Nil, 2025

1 in 255,000

Nil over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
0510152018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Nil over time

In 2025, Nil went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

19892025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Nil: meaning, origin, and history

Transliteration of Neil

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Nil means

Nil is a transliteration of Neil.

Origin, language, and formation

Nil is used in Azerbaijani and Turkish.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Neil.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Turkish, Nil is pronounced /nil/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 158 girls were recorded with the name Nil between 2013 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 19 in 2017; its best national rank was #6,462 in 2017.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #16,849 in 2020 to #8,213 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #10,666 in 2015 to #8,213 in 2025.

In the United States, 122 boys were recorded with the name Nil between 1989 and 2023. Its highest annual count was 9 in 1997; its best national rank was #6,465 in 1997.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Nil?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 255,000
13 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 124,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#8,213
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
176,762 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Nil sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 176,762 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Nil. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Nils were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Nil was born before 2019 — so the typical Nil is around 6 today.

Median birth year
2019
About 6 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
51.3% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
100.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
158
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 51.3% of all recorded uses (81).

Is Nil rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−1,634
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+8,636
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+2,453
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.30×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
68.4%
Peak was 2017 (19)
Years since peak
8
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
42.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#6,462
2017

Where Nil is used

Across 1910–2025, Nil was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 982,755 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Florida1 in —
  3. 3New York1 in —
  4. 4Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Nil has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Nil around the world

Where Nil ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2021–2025
    #4,201
    in 2025
  • France
    1986–2025
    #1,319
    in 2025

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics and Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.

Nil by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#8,213
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 8,636
Best rank ever
#6,462
2017
Peak year
2017
19 that year
First recorded
2013
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
158
Count in 2025
13

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#6,465
1997
Peak year
1997
9 that year
First recorded
1989
Last recorded
2023
All-time count
122
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Nil

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

NiliNileNilayaNilaniNilayNilamNileyNilzaNilahNillieNilsaNilayahNilkaNillaNilaNilajaYanilNilynnNilanNilouJanilNilynNildaNiloufar

Sibling names for Nil

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Nil

Top names of 2017, Nil's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2017Girls' names starting with N