Nilla
A feminine name of English origin meaning "little lemon-yellow girl".
Name Census estimates that about 15 living Americans carry the first name Nilla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nilla today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nilla births was 1970 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nilla. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nilla with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nilla. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
15
~ 1 in 22,850,289 Americans
Peak year
1970
6 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2019 SSA rank
#17,314
Tracked since 1924
Census
Nilla in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 161 people with the first name Nilla, which placed it at #43,643 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#43,643
National first-name rank
People counted
161
161 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
57.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nilla
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nilla is White at 57.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.5%) and Hispanic (11.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Nilla described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Nilla at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.1% · 92
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.5% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino11.2% · 18
- Two or more races7.5% · 12
- Black or African American6.8% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 3
Popularity
Nilla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nilla from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 10 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Nilla remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nilla by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Nilla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nilla
The name Nilla has its origins in the Sanskrit language, derived from the word "nila," which means "blue" or "dark." This name can be traced back to ancient India, where it was initially used as a descriptive term for the deep blue hues found in nature, such as the vibrant colors of the sky or the rich tones of gemstones.
In Hindu mythology, Nilla is associated with Lord Krishna, one of the most revered deities in the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient Sanskrit scripture. The name is often mentioned in verses describing Krishna's divine form, adorned with the radiant blue color symbolizing his divine grace and transcendental nature.
The earliest recorded use of the name Nilla can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts and inscriptions dating back to the 5th century BCE. One notable figure from this era was Nilla, a renowned philosopher and scholar from the Mauryan Empire, known for his contributions to the study of Vedic literature and the Sanskrit language.
During the medieval period, the name Nilla gained popularity among the ruling elite and nobility in various regions of India. One prominent figure was Queen Nilla Devi, the wife of King Vikramaditya VI of the Chalukya dynasty, who ruled in the 12th century CE. She was renowned for her patronage of the arts and her support for the construction of temples and educational institutions.
In the realm of literature, the name Nilla is associated with the celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher, Nilla Theru, who lived in the 9th century CE. His works, including the influential "Nillatheru Arathanai," explored themes of spirituality, love, and the human condition, leaving a lasting impact on Tamil literature.
Another notable figure bearing the name Nilla was the 16th-century Mughal princess, Nilla Begum. She was the daughter of Emperor Akbar and played a significant role in the cultural and intellectual life of the Mughal court, known for her patronage of artists, poets, and scholars.
While the name Nilla is rooted in Indian history and culture, it has also found its way into other parts of the world, though with varying spellings and pronunciations. In modern times, the name has gained popularity across different cultures and regions, carrying with it the symbolic associations of beauty, grace, and the deep blue hues that have long been revered in ancient traditions.
People
Nilla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nilla as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nilla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nilla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nilla going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 22,850,289 US residents.
Is Nilla a common name?
We classify Nilla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 35.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nilla most popular?
The single biggest year for Nilla was 1970, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nilla is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nilla in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 161 people with the name Nilla, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,643 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Nilla in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Nilla?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nilla appears almost entirely female. Of the 156 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Nilla?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nilla is White at 57.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.5%) and Hispanic (11.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Nilla most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nilla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.1% (92 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Nilla in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nilla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nilla in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Nilla still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nilla in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Nilla can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Nilla?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.