Neela
Feminine · “blue”
Neela is the Sanskrit word for blue — the color of the sapphire, of the throat of Shiva, and of a great many things in Indian poetry that English would call dark rather than blue.
How old is the name Neela?
Neela first appears in US birth records in 1972 — 53 years ago. The typical Neela alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 1,400 people named Neela are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Neela most popular?
Neela peaked in 2007, reaching #1988 nationally. Today it ranks #3296, 1,308 places below that high. See the whole 2007 chart.
Where it comes from
From nila to Neela
The story of Neela
Nila is an old and productive word in Sanskrit, giving nilakantha, blue-throated, an epithet of Shiva, and nilotpala, the blue lotus. As a women's name it is used across India and Sri Lanka in the spellings Neela, Nila and Neelam. It reaches American records with families from Tamil Nadu, Bengal and beyond, and separately as a modern English-language name unconnected to any of that.
Meaning
blue, dark blue
From Sanskrit nila, blue or dark; the word names the sapphire, the indigo plant and the color of several deities, and it is used across the Indian languages that draw on Sanskrit.
How the name formed
- nila
- Neela
Related forms: Neela · Neela · Nila
Pronouncing Neela
NEE-lah
Two syllables, first stressed, with a long first vowel. There is little variation.
Nicknames for Neela
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
- 1972
- Most girls named
- 2007103 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1988reached in 2007
- Change vs 2024
- −13.0%47 in 2025, from 54
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.
Neela in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Neela in Hindi — transliteration
- Neela in Tamil — same name
- Nila in Sanskrit — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Arizona.
Neelas among us
people named Neela are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 34,197 born in 2025 was named Neela
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Neela
- #3296
- Neela on the 2025 chart
- #841
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Neela went to 47 girls in 2025, but Nella and Nela are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 119, which makes it the 841st most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,455 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 13,506 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 34,197 for Neela itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Lanae test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Neela's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lanae climbed just as high around 1992, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lanae's path sketches the road Neela is walking now.
Neela 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
Where Neela is headed
Neela should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Neela beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Neela in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning that is concrete and easy to explain to a child — a color.
- Five letters and two syllables, readable at sight in most languages.
- Used across several Indian languages without change of spelling.
- Nila, Neela and Neelam are all in use and relatives may prefer different ones.
- It is close to Nia, Neena and Nella in an English ear.
- In Indian usage the color it names covers a range English would call dark rather than blue.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Neela to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Neela? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Neela
Feminine · #3296 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Neelas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Neela are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Neela?
- Neela is one of 3 recorded spellings. Nella is the more common one — 60 births in 2025 against 47 for Neela.
- How popular is the name Neela in 2025?
- Neela ranks #3296 among US girl names in 2025, with 47 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Neela?
- About 1 in every 34,197 US girls born in 2025 was named Neela — 47 in all.
- Will my child share the name Neela with classmates?
- Neela will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Neela
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Neva#3296 · Aleyda#3296 · Kaylor#3296 · Nalia#3296 · Anyeli#3296 · Izabel#3296 · Esmee#3296 · Rhoda#3296
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Neela? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Neela and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle