Nimue
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- NIM-oo-ay
- Origin
- Celtic
- UK rank, 2025
- #2,856 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #13,203 for girls
Nimue is a girls' name of Celtic origin. In 2025 it ranked 2,856th for girls in the UK (9 babies) and 13,203rd for girls in the US (6 babies).
What does Nimue mean?
Celtic: Arthurian name of uncertain origin
In Arthurian legend Nimue is a Lady of the Lake who enchants the wizard Merlin.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Nimue a girl's or a boy's name?
Nimue is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 9 girls in the UK and 6 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Nimue in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #2,856among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 9about 1 in 31,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising fastup 360% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 9 girls in the UK were named Nimue, making it the 2,856th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,110th. Its busiest year was 2023, with 10 girls.
Among girls in 2025, it was 2,786th in England and Wales.
Nimue in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | #2,856 |
| 2024 | 4 | #4,907 |
| 2023 | 10 | #2,640 |
| 2022 | 5 | #4,168 |
| 2021 | 7 | #3,338 |
| 2020 | 5 | #4,110 |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 3 | #6,003 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 3 | #5,938 |
How popular is Nimue in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #13,203among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 6about 1 in 270,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 6 girls in the US were named Nimue, making it the 13,203rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 11,085th. Its busiest year was 2021, with 19 girls. It first appears in the records in 2001.
Half of all the girls named Nimue in the US since 1880 were born between 2015 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Nimue in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | #13,203 |
| 2024 | 5 | #15,288 |
| 2023 | 7 | #12,192 |
| 2022 | 17 | #6,702 |
| 2021 | 19 | #6,170 |
| 2020 | 8 | #11,085 |
| 2019 | 10 | #9,730 |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 5 | #15,898 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 6 | #14,477 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 6 | #14,956 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 6 | #14,953 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 5 | #17,630 |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 9 | #10,095 |
Names like Nimue
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Nusaybah Ayra Liyana Safa Ayzal Abeeha Amira Imogen Elodie Hafsa Ayah Inaya
More Celtic names
Arthur Gael Harvey Alana Alan Tristan Vienna Lana Alaina Sabrina Alanna Bryce Devon Arturo Alannah Cedric
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, “Nimue: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nimue, updated 20 October 2026.