Nilda
Feminine · “battle”
Nilda is the last two syllables of a much longer name, and there is more than one candidate for what that name was. The strongest is Brunilda, and behind Brunilda stands a real Frankish queen whose end was so violent that a thousand years of poetry has not managed to improve on it.
How old is the name Nilda?
Nilda first appears in US birth records in 1911 — 114 years ago. The typical Nilda alive today was born around 1962, making them about 63 years old. About 2,600 people named Nilda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nilda most popular?
Nilda peaked in 1957, reaching #946 nationally. See the whole 1957 chart.
Where it comes from
From Brunhild to Nilda
The story of Nilda
Brunhilda of Austrasia ruled or dominated large parts of the Frankish world for four decades, through a husband, two sons and several grandsons, and she was competent enough at it to be hated across the whole continent. When she finally lost, at around seventy, her enemies had her paraded on a camel and then torn apart by horses. Germanic legend later attached her name to a valkyrie and the story went into the Nibelungenlied and out of it into opera, but the queen came first. Spanish took the name as Brunilda, shortened it in the ordinary way, and Nilda has been an everyday name across Latin America ever since.
Meaningscholars disagree
battle
If the name is cut from Brunilda, the second element is a Germanic word for battle. If it comes from Hermenegilda instead, the sense is different again. Nothing in the record says which, and in Spanish both were in use.
How the name formed
- Brunhild
- Brunilda
- Nilda
Related forms: Nilda · Nilde · Nilda
Pronouncing Nilda
NEEL-duh
Two syllables with the weight at the front. Spanish says it the same way; English speakers often use NIL-duh, with a short first vowel.
Nicknames for Nilda
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
- 1911
- Most girls named
- 1962103 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #946reached in 1957
- Change vs 2010
- −14.3%6 in 2016, 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.
Nilda in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nilda in Spanish — same name
- Nilde in Italian — same name
- Nilda in Portuguese — same name
Nildas among us
people named Nilda are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Nilda sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is a standing name across the Spanish-speaking world and needs no explanation there.
- Five letters, two syllables, and no sound difficult for an English speaker.
- It carries a real historical figure rather than only a legend.
- English speakers will shorten the first vowel, which Spanish speakers will hear as wrong.
- Its parentage is genuinely double, so a family cannot be told which long name is theirs.
- Outside Spanish-speaking company it is unfamiliar and will need spelling.
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What they receive
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Nilda
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Nildas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,600 people named Nilda are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nilda in 2025?
- Nilda is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Nilda with classmates?
- Nilda will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More N names
The most-given names starting with N, all years combined.
Nancy#965 · Nicole#382 · Natalie#89 · Norma#2002 · Nora#20 · Naomi#47 · Nellie#533 · Nina#324
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nilda? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nilda and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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