The nameNils

Meaning

Nils comes from Nicholas, from the Greek Nikolaos, "victory of the people".

Origin

Scandinavian. Nils is the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian form of Nicholas; Niels is the Danish spelling.

History

Selma Lagerlöf, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909, wrote The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1906) to teach geography to Swedish schoolchildren: little Nils, shrunk by an elf, travels across Sweden on the back of a goose. In the United States Nils reached 889th place in 1888, in Scandinavian immigrant families.

Famous people named Nils

• Nils Frahm, musician

Popularity of the name Nils

Nils in the United States

Nils was most popular in the United States in the 1960s, with 351 births over the decade, 11% of all recorded babies named Nils. Its rise began around 1888, and it peaked in 1970. Half of all babies named Nils in the United States were born before 1968, so it is mostly a parents' generation name. Over the last five years on record, its popularity has held steady at around 19 births a year.

Nils in France

Nils was most popular in France in the 2000s, with 2,505 births over the decade, 33% of all recorded babies named Nils. Its rise began around 1978, and it peaked in 2010. Half of all babies named Nils in France were born before 2007, so it is mostly a name of today's children and teenagers. Over the last five years on record, it has been falling: 115 births a year on average, against 191 in the five years before.

Nils in Belgium

Nils in Switzerland

Nils in Austria

Nils in Norway