Niels
Masculine · “victory of the people”
Niels is the Danish form of Nicholas, and it is one of those names that a small country makes internationally famous through a single person: Niels Bohr, whose model of the atom is taught in every school in the world. Its American peak is 1893, with the Danish and Norwegian migration to the upper Midwest.
How old is the name Niels?
Niels first appears in US birth records in 1893 — 132 years ago. The typical Niels alive today was born around 1969, making them about 56 years old. About 1,000 people named Niels are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Niels most popular?
Niels peaked in 1893, reaching #1035 nationally. Today it ranks #5861, 4,826 places below that high. See the whole 1893 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Nikolaos to Niels
The story of Niels
Saint Nicholas of Myra, a fourth-century bishop, became one of the most widely venerated saints in Christendom and the patron of sailors, merchants and children; the Dutch Sinterklaas and then the American Santa Claus descend from him. The name spread through the Baltic and North Sea trading world, and Scandinavia produced Niels, Nils and Nils-. It has been among the most common Danish men's names for centuries. American records show it in Danish and Norwegian settlements in Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas, peaking in the 1890s. Niels Bohr's Nobel Prize in 1922 gave the spelling a permanent international presence.
Meaning
victory of the people
Greek Nikolaos joins nike, 'victory', to laos, 'the people' — a compound of the ordinary Greek kind, and the same nike that names the goddess. Danish and Norwegian wore Nikolaus down to Niels and Nils, dropping the middle entirely, which is a normal Scandinavian compression. The derivation is settled at every step.
How the name formed
- Nikolaos
- Nicolaus
- Niels
Related forms: Niels · Nils · Niels · Nicholas · Nikolai
Pronouncing Niels
NEELS
One syllable in Danish, with a long e and a soft final s. English speakers often produce two syllables, NEE-uhls, or say it as Neils. The single-syllable version is correct and is easy once heard.
Nicknames for Niels
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
- 1893
- Most boys named
- 195731 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1035reached in 1893
- Change vs 2023
- +114.3%15 in 2025, from 7
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.
Niels in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Niels in Danish — same name
- Nils in Swedish — related form
- Niels in Dutch — same name
- Nicholas in English — related form
- Nikolai in Russian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Utah.
Nielss among us
people named Niels are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 113,872 born in 2025 was named Niels
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Niels 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
Niels beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Niels in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled and expressible in three words.
- Nick is available as a universally understood short form.
- It has an internationally recognized bearer whose work is taught everywhere.
- It is constantly misspelled Neils by English speakers, who expect i before e.
- One- and two-syllable pronunciations both circulate in America.
- Its American curve is late-nineteenth-century, which places a bearer's generation.
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Niels
Masculine · #5861 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nielss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Niels are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Niels in 2025?
- Niels ranks #5861 among US boy names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Niels?
- About 1 in every 113,872 US boys born in 2025 was named Niels — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Niels with classmates?
- Niels will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Niels
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eber#5861 · Wilton#5861 · Ruby#5861 · Stacy#5861 · Garner#5861 · Caldwell#5861 · Severin#5861 · Newton#5861
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Niels? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Niels and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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