Nils
Meaning and origin
Medieval vernacular form of the Latin Nīcolāus, ultimately from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος (Nikólaos). First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1455.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Nils (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Nils has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2022. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 143 |
| 1999 | 173 |
| 2000 | 197 |
| 2001 | 212 |
| 2002 | 237 |
| 2003 | 263 |
| 2004 | 255 |
| 2005 | 288 |
| 2006 | 308 |
| 2007 | 346 |
| 2008 | 362 |
| 2009 | 391 |
| 2010 | 427 |
| 2011 | 480 |
| 2012 | 467 |
| 2013 | 488 |
| 2014 | 514 |
| 2015 | 530 |
| 2016 | 547 |
| 2017 | 484 |
| 2018 | 502 |
| 2019 | 534 |
| 2020 | 533 |
| 2021 | 519 |
| 2022 | 576 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 66,419 |
| 2000 | 63,626 |
| 2001 | 60,889 |
| 2002 | 58,222 |
| 2003 | 55,630 |
| 2004 | 53,256 |
| 2005 | 51,063 |
| 2006 | 49,041 |
| 2007 | 47,525 |
| 2008 | 46,277 |
| 2009 | 45,071 |
| 2010 | 43,996 |
| 2011 | 43,074 |
| 2012 | 42,115 |
| 2013 | 41,178 |
| 2014 | 40,322 |
| 2015 | 39,474 |
| 2016 | 38,769 |
| 2017 | 38,032 |
| 2018 | 37,280 |
| 2019 | 36,524 |
| 2020 | 35,687 |
Nils in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Nils.Hi! My name is Nils.
- Nils ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Nils called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Nils kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Nils is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Nils mamma är lärare.Nils's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Nils mamma is Nils's mum. Because Nils already ends in s, nothing is added.
More names
Questions about Nils
How do you pronounce Nils in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Nils from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Nils mean?
Medieval vernacular form of the Latin Nīcolāus, ultimately from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος (Nikólaos). First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1455.
How popular is Nils in Sweden?
576 babies were named Nils in 2022. In 2020, 35,687 people in Sweden had Nils as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2022 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.