Nabila
Feminine · “noble”
The Arabic root behind Nabila covers two things that do not obviously go together: nobility and arrows. Nabil is both a noble man and a skilled archer, because archery was the accomplishment a nobleman was expected to have.
How old is the name Nabila?
Nabila first appears in US birth records in 1977 — 48 years ago. The typical Nabila alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 800 people named Nabila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nabila most popular?
Nabila peaked in 1989, reaching #4248 nationally. Today it ranks #6838, 2,590 places below that high. See the whole 1989 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From nabil to Nabila
The story of Nabila
Semitic roots often hold a cluster of senses that look unrelated until the social context is supplied, and n-b-l is a clear case: a nabil is noble, and the noble skill is the bow. Arabic naming uses the adjective freely, and Nabil and Nabila are common across the Arab world. The name spread further with Islam and is used in Indonesia, Malaysia and South Asia as well. In United States records it appears with Arab and South Asian migration and had its best year in 1989. Nabila Ebeid, the Egyptian actress, made the name widely familiar across the Arab world in the same period.
Meaning
noble, of noble character
Arabic nabila, the feminine of nabil, from the root n-b-l. The root's senses run from nobility and generosity of character to arrows and archery; nabl is a collective noun for arrows and nabbal is an arrow-maker. The connection is the association of skill with rank, and both senses are current in the language.
How the name formed
- nabil
- nabila
- Nabila
Related forms: Nabila · Nabila · Nabeela · Nebile
Pronouncing Nabila
nah-BEE-lah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Simple vowels throughout, which makes it straightforward for English speakers.
Nicknames for Nabila
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1977
- Most girls named
- 202129 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4248reached in 1989
- Change vs 2024
- −11.1%16 in 2025, from 18
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Nabila in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nabila in Arabic — same name
- Nabila in Indonesian — same name
- Nabeela in Urdu — spelling variant
- Nebile in Turkish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Minnesota.
Nabilas among us
people named Nabila are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 100,454 born in 2025 was named Nabila
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Anjela test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nabila's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Anjela climbed just as high around 1970, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Anjela's path sketches the road Nabila is walking now.
Nabila sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Nabila beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nabila in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Arabic meaning with an unusually interesting root behind it.
- Used across the Arab world, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Asia.
- No consonant clusters, so English speakers manage it at once.
- Nabeela and Nabila both circulate as transliterations.
- The front clip coincides with the Arabic word for a prophet.
- It is close to Nabil, the men's form, and to Nadia.
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What they receive
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Nabila
Feminine · #6838 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nabilas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Nabila are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nabila in 2025?
- Nabila ranks #6838 among US girl names in 2025, with 16 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nabila?
- About 1 in every 100,454 US girls born in 2025 was named Nabila — 16 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nabila with classmates?
- Nabila will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nabila
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Malana#6838 · Jeannie#6838 · Maxie#6838 · Nicol#6838 · Chaney#6838 · Keana#6838 · Concetta#6838 · Pheobe#6838
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nabila? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nabila and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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