Nilay
- Gender
- Mostly girls
- Origin
- Sanskrit
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,065 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #10,690 for boys
Nilay is a name of Sanskrit origin, meaning “house, abode, residence”. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies) and 10,690th for boys in the US (6 babies).
What does Nilay mean?
Sanskrit
“house, abode, residence”
A male given name from Sanskrit used in India.
From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is Nilay a girl's or a boy's name?
In recent years, Nilay has been given to girls and boys, mostly girls. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK and 5 girls and 6 boys in the US.
How popular is Nilay in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 2019, with 6 girls. 3 boys were also named Nilay in 2025 (5,065th for boys).
Nilay in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | #5,966 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 1 | #7,487 |
| 2021 | 4 | #4,864 |
| 2020 | 3 | #5,734 |
| 2019 | 6 | #3,738 |
| 2018 | 5 | #4,204 |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 5 | #4,290 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 4 | #4,931 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 3 | #4,156 |
How popular is Nilay in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 10,690th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 6 about 1 in 280,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 6 boys in the US were named Nilay, making it the 10,690th most popular name for boys. Its busiest year was 2006, with 12 boys. It first appears in the records in 1974. 5 girls were also named Nilay in 2025 (14,937th for girls).
2025 had more boys named Nilay than any year since 2018.
Half of all the boys named Nilay in the US since 1880 were born between 1998 and 2011, the years shaded on the chart below.
Nilay in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | #10,690 |
| 2024 | 0 | – |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 6 | #10,754 |
| 2017 | 8 | #8,835 |
| 2016 | 7 | #9,659 |
| 2015 | 6 | #10,638 |
| 2014 | 8 | #8,775 |
| 2013 | 11 | #7,021 |
| 2012 | 7 | #9,703 |
| 2011 | 11 | #7,002 |
| 2010 | 8 | #8,797 |
| 2009 | 11 | #7,231 |
| 2008 | 6 | #11,030 |
| 2007 | 7 | #9,782 |
| 2006 | 12 | #6,455 |
| 2005 | 7 | #9,108 |
| 2004 | 11 | #6,514 |
| 2003 | 11 | #6,251 |
| 2002 | 7 | #8,449 |
| 2001 | 9 | #6,928 |
| 2000 | 10 | #6,309 |
| 1999 | 10 | #6,036 |
| 1998 | 6 | #8,472 |
| 1997 | 5 | #9,259 |
| 1996 | 6 | #7,964 |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 5 | #6,715 |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 5 | #6,234 |
| 1982 | 7 | #5,001 |
| 1981 | 9 | #4,151 |
| 1980 | 7 | #4,938 |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 6 | #5,056 |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 5 | #5,225 |
Names like Nilay
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Arjun, Aarav, Armani, Rishi, Ajay, Dhruv, Ishaan, Aryan, Krish, Nikolai, Keanu, Ravi
Names related to Nilay
More Sanskrit names
Maya, Bodhi, Arya, Lila, Rohan, Kali, Opal, Arjan, Vihaan, Aadhya, Avyaan, Siya, Leena, Shivansh, Veer, Veda
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Nilay: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nilay, updated 20 October 2026.