Nial
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- NY-al
- Origin
- Irish
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,065 for boys
Nial is a boys' name of Irish origin. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies).
What does Nial mean?
Irish: spelling of Niall; meaning disputed
Niall of the Nine Hostages was a legendary High King of Ireland, ancestor of the Ui Neill dynasties.
Meaning borrowed from Niall. More on Wiktionary.
Is Nial a girl's or a boy's name?
Nial is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Nial in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,065among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 3about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Falling fastdown 70% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Nial, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,803rd. Its busiest year was 2000, with 20 boys.
2025 had more boys named Nial than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Nial in the UK since 1996 were born between 1999 and 2009. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
In 2025, 119 boys in the UK were given Nial or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #393, up from #5,065 for this spelling alone.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,974th in England and Wales.
Nial in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,065 |
| 2024 | 0 | – |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 3 | #4,803 |
| 2019 | 1 | #6,258 |
| 2018 | 6 | #3,162 |
| 2017 | 4 | #4,161 |
| 2016 | 3 | #5,015 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 5 | #3,529 |
| 2013 | 1 | #6,198 |
| 2012 | 3 | #4,999 |
| 2011 | 1 | #6,218 |
| 2010 | 3 | #4,865 |
| 2009 | 9 | #2,241 |
| 2008 | 8 | #2,384 |
| 2007 | 1 | #5,736 |
| 2006 | 4 | #3,522 |
| 2005 | 7 | #2,292 |
| 2004 | 3 | #3,792 |
| 2003 | 7 | #2,054 |
| 2002 | 8 | #1,728 |
| 2001 | 14 | #1,149 |
| 2000 | 20 | #882 |
| 1999 | 11 | #1,267 |
| 1998 | 14 | #1,062 |
| 1997 | 5 | #2,109 |
| 1996 | 10 | #1,290 |
Names like Nial
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Oscar William Fergus Albie Samuel Fraser Ronan Nathan Declan Hamza Lewis Finley
Other spellings of Nial
Names related to Nial
More Irish names
Rowan Rory Maeve Finn Aiden Ryan Nolan Quinn Orla Cody Erin Connor Casey Kennedy Callan Lennon
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Nial: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nial, updated 20 October 2026.