Nilsa
A feminine name of uncertain origin and meaning, possibly related to "lily".
Name Census estimates that about 1,513 living Americans carry the first name Nilsa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nilsa today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nilsa births was 1960 (76 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nilsa. 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 Nilsa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 226,540 Americans
Peak year
1960
76 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,825
Tracked since 1946
Census
Nilsa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,378 people with the first name Nilsa, which placed it at #5,167 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
#5,167
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,378 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
95.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nilsa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nilsa is Hispanic at 95.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.3%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Nilsa 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 Nilsa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.3% · 3,219
- White2.3% · 78
- Black or African American1.7% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 13
- Two or more races0.3% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Nilsa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nilsa from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 606 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nilsa 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 Nilsa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nilsas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the most babies named Nilsa, while Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 143 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nilsa
The name Nilsa is believed to have its origins in the Scandinavian languages, specifically in Old Norse and Swedish. It is derived from the Old Norse word "nið," which means "darkness" or "night." The name is thought to have emerged during the Viking era, around the 8th to 11th centuries AD, in the regions of modern-day Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nilsa can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical narratives dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. In these sagas, Nilsa is mentioned as the name of a character, often a female warrior or a prominent figure in Norse society.
During the Middle Ages, the name Nilsa gained popularity among the Norse communities in Scandinavia. It was often associated with strength, courage, and resilience, traits highly valued in the Viking culture. Several historical records from this period mention individuals with the name Nilsa, although specific details about their lives and achievements are scarce.
One notable figure bearing the name Nilsa was a Viking shieldmaiden who lived during the 10th century. She was known for her fierce fighting skills and her unwavering loyalty to her clan. Unfortunately, little else is known about her life or exploits, but her legacy as a formidable warrior has been preserved in Norse folklore and oral traditions.
Another historical figure named Nilsa was a Norwegian noblewoman who lived in the 12th century. She was known for her influential role in the political affairs of her time and her involvement in negotiating alliances between rival clans. Her diplomatic skills and wisdom were widely respected, and she played a crucial role in maintaining peace in the region.
In the 15th century, a Swedish woman named Nilsa gained recognition for her contributions to the arts and literature. She was a skilled poet and storyteller, and her works were highly praised by her contemporaries. Unfortunately, few of her writings have survived to this day, but her name has been immortalized in the annals of Swedish literary history.
Throughout the centuries, the name Nilsa has remained a part of Scandinavian culture, although its popularity has waxed and waned over time. While not as common as some other Nordic names, it has continued to be used, often carrying the connotations of strength, resilience, and a connection to the rich heritage of the Viking era.
People
Nilsa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nilsa 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
Nilsa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nilsa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,513 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nilsa 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 226,540 US residents.
Is Nilsa a common name?
We classify Nilsa as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,804 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nilsa most popular?
The single biggest year for Nilsa was 1960, when 76 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nilsa is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nilsa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,378 people with the name Nilsa, or 1.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,167 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 Nilsa 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 Nilsa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nilsa appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,367 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Nilsa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nilsa is Hispanic at 95.3%. The next largest groups are White (2.3%) and Black (1.7%). 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 Nilsa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Nilsa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.3% (3,219 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 Nilsa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nilsa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nilsa 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 Nilsa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nilsa 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 Nilsa 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 Nilsa?
See how many Americans are named Nilsa on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.