Nils
Meaning
champion of the people (Scandinavian form of Nicholas)
Nils around the world
One shared root links 13 names across 6 languages.
Shared root: from Greek Nikolaos, nike "victory" + laos "people"
The constellation
Sources list Nils among the forms of Nicholas (Danish · Norwegian · Swedish).
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Nils has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
93 people · the #43,413 first name in Brazil · median age 52
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Nils
People given the name Nils in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1960 to 2009. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Nils deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Nils truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Nils fits with your family’s names and surname.
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