Nile
Nile was given to 86 boys in 2025, #1,848 among boys’ names; 4,066 Americans have been recorded with it since 1895 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 3,130 Americans named Nile and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (77% of everyone recorded); the median is 19 years old and half are between 8 and 34.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nile by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Nile?
#1,848 among boys’ names, 2025
Nile rose from #2,340 in 2015 to #1,848 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 29.2 to 50.3 per million.
159 babies in 2021, the peak
Nile peaked in 2021, when 159 babies were given it (129 boys, #1,421 among boys’ names). The 94 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 59% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 86 | #1,848 | 50.3 |
| 2024 | 81 | #1,948 | 47.0 |
| 2023 | 92 | #1,770 | 53.8 |
| 2022 | 110 | #1,605 | 63.0 |
| 2021 | 129 | #1,421 | 73.7 |
| 2020 | 86 | #1,773 | 49.8 |
| 2019 | 75 | #1,970 | 41.8 |
| 2018 | 75 | #1,970 | 41.3 |
| 2017 | 58 | #2,288 | 31.3 |
| 2016 | 81 | #1,855 | 42.7 |
Every recorded year (120)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 56 | #2,340 | 29.2 |
| 2014 | 72 | #1,991 | 37.5 |
| 2013 | 49 | #2,512 | 25.9 |
| 2012 | 66 | #2,084 | 34.8 |
| 2011 | 51 | #2,465 | 26.9 |
| 2010 | 65 | #2,086 | 33.9 |
| 2009 | 43 | #2,830 | 21.7 |
| 2008 | 48 | #2,615 | 23.5 |
| 2007 | 53 | #2,429 | 25.5 |
| 2006 | 48 | #2,529 | 23.4 |
| 2005 | 45 | #2,512 | 22.5 |
| 2004 | 28 | #3,425 | 14.1 |
| 2003 | 47 | #2,296 | 23.8 |
| 2002 | 44 | #2,355 | 22.7 |
| 2001 | 54 | #1,996 | 27.8 |
| 2000 | 44 | #2,240 | 22.4 |
| 1999 | 51 | #1,921 | 26.6 |
| 1998 | 50 | #1,947 | 26.2 |
| 1997 | 50 | #1,874 | 26.5 |
| 1996 | 50 | #1,831 | 26.4 |
| 1995 | 56 | #1,635 | 29.4 |
| 1994 | 47 | #1,841 | 24.3 |
| 1993 | 48 | #1,779 | 24.5 |
| 1992 | 45 | #1,826 | 22.5 |
| 1991 | 31 | #2,329 | 15.3 |
| 1990 | 28 | #2,468 | 13.6 |
| 1989 | 30 | #2,269 | 15.0 |
| 1988 | 23 | #2,565 | 12.0 |
| 1987 | 24 | #2,373 | 12.9 |
| 1986 | 20 | #2,659 | 10.9 |
| 1985 | 18 | #2,792 | 9.7 |
| 1984 | 23 | #2,271 | 12.7 |
| 1983 | 15 | #3,025 | 8.4 |
| 1982 | 11 | #3,876 | 6.1 |
| 1981 | 23 | #2,250 | 12.8 |
| 1980 | 26 | #2,099 | 14.6 |
| 1979 | 22 | #2,289 | 12.8 |
| 1978 | 5 | #6,484 | 3.0 |
| 1977 | 12 | #3,321 | 7.3 |
| 1976 | 15 | #2,786 | 9.6 |
| 1975 | 14 | #2,862 | 9.0 |
| 1974 | 11 | #3,262 | 7.0 |
| 1973 | 14 | #2,680 | 9.0 |
| 1972 | 13 | #2,775 | 8.0 |
| 1971 | 9 | #3,575 | 5.1 |
| 1970 | 10 | #3,208 | 5.4 |
| 1969 | 15 | #2,277 | 8.4 |
| 1968 | 10 | #2,858 | 5.8 |
| 1967 | 13 | #2,314 | 7.5 |
| 1966 | 12 | #2,420 | 6.7 |
| 1965 | 11 | #2,576 | 5.9 |
| 1964 | 18 | #1,954 | 9.0 |
| 1963 | 15 | #2,173 | 7.4 |
| 1962 | 12 | #2,471 | 5.8 |
| 1961 | 14 | #2,307 | 6.6 |
| 1960 | 16 | #2,095 | 7.5 |
| 1959 | 15 | #2,172 | 7.0 |
| 1958 | 15 | #2,143 | 7.1 |
| 1957 | 12 | #2,456 | 5.6 |
| 1956 | 19 | #1,869 | 9.0 |
| 1955 | 16 | #2,023 | 7.8 |
| 1954 | 13 | #2,282 | 6.4 |
| 1953 | 26 | #1,496 | 13.2 |
| 1952 | 19 | #1,788 | 9.8 |
| 1951 | 12 | #2,334 | 6.4 |
| 1950 | 24 | #1,524 | 13.4 |
| 1949 | 16 | #1,919 | 9.0 |
| 1948 | 20 | #1,690 | 11.4 |
| 1947 | 17 | #1,893 | 9.3 |
| 1946 | 22 | #1,542 | 13.5 |
| 1945 | 16 | #1,743 | 11.9 |
| 1944 | 30 | #1,228 | 22.0 |
| 1943 | 25 | #1,425 | 17.5 |
| 1942 | 25 | #1,408 | 18.1 |
| 1941 | 25 | #1,363 | 20.4 |
| 1940 | 39 | #1,045 | 33.6 |
| 1939 | 28 | #1,262 | 25.3 |
| 1938 | 21 | #1,511 | 18.9 |
| 1937 | 16 | #1,808 | 15.0 |
| 1936 | 22 | #1,449 | 21.2 |
| 1935 | 12 | #2,211 | 11.5 |
| 1934 | 13 | #2,089 | 12.6 |
| 1933 | 24 | #1,396 | 24.2 |
| 1932 | 27 | #1,348 | 25.9 |
| 1931 | 27 | #1,353 | 26.0 |
| 1930 | 26 | #1,453 | 23.7 |
| 1929 | 14 | #2,167 | 13.0 |
| 1928 | 27 | #1,439 | 24.4 |
| 1927 | 29 | #1,396 | 25.7 |
| 1926 | 29 | #1,374 | 26.1 |
| 1925 | 31 | #1,324 | 27.8 |
| 1924 | 30 | #1,371 | 26.5 |
| 1923 | 30 | #1,349 | 27.4 |
| 1922 | 23 | #1,625 | 21.1 |
| 1921 | 19 | #1,876 | 17.3 |
| 1920 | 19 | #1,862 | 17.9 |
| 1919 | 26 | #1,438 | 26.5 |
| 1918 | 26 | #1,433 | 25.7 |
| 1917 | 24 | #1,470 | 25.9 |
| 1916 | 28 | #1,292 | 31.5 |
| 1915 | 30 | #1,207 | 35.4 |
| 1914 | 13 | #1,835 | 19.9 |
| 1913 | 9 | #2,046 | 17.6 |
| 1912 | 16 | #1,210 | 37.2 |
| 1910 | 5 | #1,775 | 25.7 |
| 1907 | 5 | #1,486 | 34.1 |
| 1905 | 8 | #979 | 60.5 |
| 1899 | 5 | #1,156 | 47.1 |
| 1896 | 7 | #949 | 58.5 |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,201 | 42.6 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Nile a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 4,066 Americans recorded as Nile, 9% are girls and 91% boys. In 2025 it went to 8 girls and 86 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Nile: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nile, and how old are they?
3,130 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 77% of the 4,066 Americans ever recorded as Nile. The median Nile alive today is 19 years old; half are between 8 and 34.
The 2020 Census counted 2,510 people named Nile (336 women and girls, 2,174 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,615 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 84 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 208 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 193 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 514 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 915 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,220 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Nile born?
The states with the most babies named Nile are Florida, New York and Iowa, with 58% of its births recorded by state in 2025; Iowa is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 8 | #1,439 | 0.3× |
| New York | 7 | #1,520 | 0.6× |
| Iowa | 6 | #555 | 3.2× |
| Texas | 5 | #2,845 | 0.1× |
| Ohio | 5 | #1,422 | 0.1× |
| Wisconsin | 5 | #855 | 0.1× |
Where Nile is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Nile is most over-represented in Iowa: since 1910 it was given 3.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Nile with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 7,097 babies since 1880, Nile is the most given (57% of them). In 2025 it was given to 94 of their 206 babies (46%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Nile
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Nile and names like it
- Compare Nile and NyleBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sNile peaked in 2021.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nile since 1910.
- The top names of 2021The year the most babies were named Nile.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Nile alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with NMost given first.