Nil

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Nila in US United States, PH Philippines, BR Brazil and 8 more.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 8 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Nil is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Indonesian given name124K records spelled Nil8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Nigeria, India, Malaysia, Indonesia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Nile, Niĺ, Ñîl, Nîl, Ňįļ

• Spanish given name77K records spelled Nil15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, Nigeria, Brazil, France

  Languages: Spanish, Catalan, French

  Also written Nile, Nilé, Níl, Nïl, Ñìl

• Turkish given name69K records spelled Nil7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Türkiye, Nigeria, United States, Cyprus

  Languages: Turkish, Azerbaijani

  Also written Nile, Nilė, Níle

• English given name14K records spelled Nil98 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Philippines

  Languages: English, Bangla, German

  Also written Neil, নীল, Neel, নীলু, Neelo

• a separate given name11K records spelled Nil2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, Türkiye, Spain

  Also written Nīl

• a separate name1.6K records spelled Nil7 spellings in the group

  Also written நில, Nila, நில், Nīla

40 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Nil is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Nothing; zero.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Turkish, 1. Mavi, lacivert. 2. Mısır’dan geçip Akdeniz’e dökülen nehir.

  as a word·TDK Kişi Adları Sözlüğü (official Turkish given-name dictionary)

• In Russian, "noir" et le nom du fleuve Nil. Nilus est aussi le nom d'un roi d'Egypte, et d'un autre Nilus, petit-fils d'Atlas (personnage de la mythologie grecque).

  as a name·Russian Names

• In Akan, ura-mii, inf. [dura mu] J. the act of lining, finishing the in- side of dc. — J2. the lining of the inside. niirfi, r. s. nunti

  as a word·Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language called Tshi (Chwee, Twi)

• In Russian, Nil, elder of the Kirillov monastery. 1448-68.

  as a word·A Dictionary of Period Russian Names (Wickenden / Goldschmidt 1996)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

IN naampy — India given names from state electoral rolls (in-rolls) — 71 years between 1921–2015. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Nilo Fabrab. 1843ESnot in their usual nameSpanish writer and journalist (1843–1903)
• Nil Glagolevb. 1888RURussian mathematician (1888–1945)
• Nil Burakb. 1948TRTurkish Cypriot actor and singer (born 1948)
• Nil Lushchakb. 1973UAEastern Catholic bishop
• Nil Karaibrahimgilb. 1976TRTurkish singer (born 1976)
• Nil Günalb. 1981TRTurkish actor (born 1981)
• Nil Kropalovb. 1991RUactor
• Nil Molinerb. 1992ESSpanish singer-songwriter
• Nil Cardonerb. 1998ESSpanish actor
• Nil Garridob. 2001football player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 529 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Nil?

We estimate roughly 24 thousand people bear Nil (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Nil have the most bearers?

Nil is most frequently recorded in Nigeria, where it is most often spelled nil.

How common is Nil compared with other names?

In Nigeria, Nil is the 9th most common given name of 146,224 given names recorded there.

Is Nil a male or female name?

Nil is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Nil mean?

Recorded meaning: Nile (a river in Africa)