How Many People Are Named Nils?
An estimated 2,186 people in the United States have the first name Nils. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 45 years old, and Nils peaked in popularity in 1970 with 48 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Nils as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Nils paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
2,186
About 1 in 156,795 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
100.0% confidence
Average Age
45
years old
Peak Year
1970
48 births
Total Registered
3,061
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Nils
Nils is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 3,061 total births registered, 100.0% were male.
Nils as a male name
Ranked #4,979 in 2024
20 male births in 2024
Peak: 1970 (48 births)
Nils: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Nils span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 14 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1960s, when 351 babies were registered. Nils has declined significantly from its peak in the 1960s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Nils by Decade
How has Nils tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Nils by State
Birth registrations for Nils span all 8 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Massachusetts. The lowest are in Michigan, Illinois, Washington. On average, about 72 Nilss were registered per state.
Nils + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Nils as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Nils
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Nils: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nils?
We estimate approximately 2,186 people named Nils are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 156,795 Americans share this first name.
Is Nils a common name?
Nils is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 94.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 3,061 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Nils most popular?
Nils reached peak popularity in 1970, when 48 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Nils is approximately 45 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Nils a male name?
Nils is predominantly male. 100.0% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Nils Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Nils Smith, Nils Johnson, Nils Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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