How popular is the baby name Nil in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Nil.

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Popularity of the baby name Nil


Posts that mention the name Nil

Popular baby names in Catalonia (Spain), 2012

Last year, the top baby names in Catalonia — an autonomous region in northeastern Spain — were Marc for boys and Julia for girls.

Here are Catalonia’s top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2012:

Baby Girl NamesBaby Boy Names
1. Júlia/Julia (954 baby girls)
2. Martina (889)
3. Laia (833)
4. Carla (748)
5. Paula (697)
6. Maria/María (683)
7. Lucía (656)
8. Aina (591)
9. Noa (548)
10. Sara (529)
11. Clàudia/Claudia (528)
12. Emma (515)
13. Ariadna (452)
14. Alba (451)
15. Abril (380)
16. Arlet (369)
17. Daniela (355)
18. Jana (348)
19. Berta (338)
20. Ona (333)
1. Marc (1,125 baby boys)
2. Àlex/Álex (753)
3. Èric/Eric (735)
4. Pol (696)
5. Pau (669)
6. Hugo (640)
7. Biel (636)
8. Arnau (621)
9. Gerard (600)
10. Jan (589)
11. Martí (577)
12. Nil (538)
13. Aleix (450)
14. David (441)
15. Oriol (431)
16. Daniel (425)
17. Adam (405)
18. Joel (379)
19. Adrià (373)
20. Iker (372)

Iker, regularly a top-20 name in Catalonia, was rare in the U.S. just a decade ago. Today, usage of Iker is rising rapidly. It entered the top 1,000 in 2010 and already ranked 230th in 2012.

Who kicked off the Iker trend? Soccer player Iker Casillas Fernandez. (His younger brother also has an interesting name — Unai, a Basque word meaning “cowherd.”)

Source: Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya

Baby born aboard steamship El Nil, named El Nil

In late 1940, a baby boy was born to Mr. and Mrs. Shlomo Gerstein during a 68-day voyage from Alexandria, Egypt, to Jersey City, New Jersey (by way of the Suez Canal and the Cape of Good Hope).

The family was sailing aboard the Egyptian steamship El Nil — “the Nile” in Arabic — and so the baby was named Akiva El Nil Gerstein.

Source: “Born at Sea.” Chicago Tribune 20 Oct. 1940: 21.

Anagram baby names (3 letters long)

Anagram baby names (3 letters)

Looking for a set of baby names with something in common? If so, here are some 3-letter anagram names for you to check out!

Anagrams are words that contain the same set of letters, but not in the same sequence. For instance, the words “pot,” “opt,” and “top” are all anagrams of one another.

Anagram names can be a neat option for siblings — particularly multiples (like twins and triplets). They’re also a clever way to connect a baby name to the name of an older relative (e.g., grandpa Ole, grandson Leo).

Below are hundreds of three-letter names (collected from the SSA’s huge database of U.S. baby names) that happen to be anagrams of other names.

Three-letter anagram names

  • Ani, Ian, Ina, Nai, Nia
  • Eno, Eon, Neo, Noe, Oen
  • Ame, Ema, Mae, Mea
  • Ami, Iam, Mai, Mia
  • Amy, May, Mya, Yma
  • Ari, Ira, Rai, Ria
  • Ary, Ray, Rya, Yar
  • Azi, Iza, Zai, Zia
  • Ade, Dea, Eda
  • Adi, Dia, Ida
  • Aki, Kai, Kia
  • Ali, Ila, Lia
  • Alo, Loa, Ola
  • Ase, Esa, Sae
  • Ave, Eva, Vea
  • Avi, Iva, Via
  • Ean, Ena, Nea
  • Era, Rae, Rea
  • Eri, Ire, Rei
  • Ero, Reo, Roe
  • Ion, Nio, Oni
  • Isa, Sai, Sia
  • Ita, Tai, Tia
  • Kao, Koa, Oak
  • Nay, Nya, Yan
  • Ori, Rio, Roi
  • Abe, Bea
  • Abi, Bia
  • Aby, Bay
  • Aly, Lya
  • Anh, Han
  • Ann, Nan
  • Anu, Una
  • Aum, Uma
  • Avy, Yva
  • Bao, Oba
  • Cam, Mac
  • Caz, Zac
  • Dev, Ved
  • Dez, Zed
  • Dre, Red
  • Duy, Udy
  • Ela, Lea
  • Emi, Mei
  • Eve, Vee
  • Eze, Zee
  • Gem, Meg
  • Guy, Yug
  • Hal, Lah
  • Ike, Kei
  • Ivo, Ovi
  • Jai, Jia
  • Jak, Kaj
  • Jet, Tej
  • Jio, Joi
  • Kal, Kla
  • Kam, Mak
  • Kay, Kya
  • Kaz, Zak
  • Keo, Koe
  • Koy, Kyo
  • Lam, Mal
  • Lav, Val
  • Len, Nel
  • Leo, Ole
  • Lin, Nil
  • Lio, Oli
  • Lua, Ula
  • Lys, Sly
  • Mio, Omi
  • Miu, Umi
  • Naz, Zan
  • Niv, Vin
  • Noa, Ona
  • Nas, San
  • Ora, Roa
  • Oya, Yao
  • Rey, Rye
  • Roy, Ryo
  • Rui, Uri
  • Rut, Tru
  • Tae, Tea
  • Tao, Toa
  • Zae, Zea
  • Zay, Zya
  • Zeo, Zoe
  • Zio, Zoi
  • Ziv, Zvi

Which pairing/group do you like best? Let me know in the comments!

To see anagram names of other lengths, check out these lists of 4-letter anagram names, 5-letter anagram names, 6-letter anagram names, 7-letter anagram names, and 8-letter anagram names.

[Latest update: April 2023]