Nyle
A masculine name of Greek origin referring to the Nile river.
Name Census estimates that about 1,756 living Americans carry the first name Nyle. It is a predominantly male name (98.0% of registrations). The average person named Nyle today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nyle births was 2016 (96 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nyle. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nyle with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 195,190 Americans
Peak year
2016
96 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,648
Tracked since 1914
Census
Nyle in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,514 people with the first name Nyle, which placed it at #9,266 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,266
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,514 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
46.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nyle
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nyle is White at 46.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (17.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Nyle described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Nyle at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White46.0% · 697
- Black or African American21.0% · 318
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.6% · 267
- Two or more races7.5% · 114
- Hispanic or Latino6.8% · 103
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 15
Gender
Gender distribution for Nyle
Nyle leans heavily male at 98.0% of total registrations, but 44 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nyle as a male name
- Ranked #2,648 in 2024
- 50 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (96 births)
Nyle as a female name
- Ranked #11,950 in 2022
- 8 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2022 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nyle leans strongly male. 1,383 people counted with this name were male (91.0%), compared with 136 female bearers (9.0%).
Popularity
Nyle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nyle from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 551 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nyle remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nyle by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Nyle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nyles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Nyle, while Missouri, Michigan, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 31 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nyle
The given name Nyle has its origins in the Old English language, which was spoken by the Germanic tribes that inhabited England from the 5th to the 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old English word "nyl," which means "river." The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 8th century, when it was used as a given name for both males and females in various regions of England.
The name Nyle was particularly popular among the Anglo-Saxons, who were the dominant cultural group in England during the Middle Ages. It was often associated with individuals who lived near rivers or worked as fishermen or boatmen. The name may also have been used to signify a person's connection to water or their affinity for aquatic environments.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Nyle was Nyle the Scribe, a monk who lived in the late 9th century. He is credited with copying and preserving several important manuscripts, including works by the venerable Bede, a renowned scholar and historian of the Anglo-Saxon era.
In the 11th century, Nyle of Huntingdon was a notable figure who served as a advisor to King William the Conqueror. He played a significant role in the Norman conquest of England and was rewarded with lands and titles for his loyalty.
During the Middle Ages, the name Nyle was also used by several members of the English nobility. One such individual was Nyle de Beaumont, a knight who fought alongside King Richard I during the Third Crusade in the late 12th century.
In the 14th century, Nyle Wycliffe was a prominent English philosopher and theologian who was a key figure in the Lollard movement, which sought to reform the Catholic Church. He is best known for his translation of the Bible into Middle English, making the sacred text accessible to a wider audience.
Another notable figure with the name Nyle was Nyle Caxton, a renowned English printer and publisher who lived in the 15th century. He is credited with introducing the printing press to England and publishing some of the earliest printed books in the English language.
While the name Nyle has become less common in modern times, it has a rich historical significance and a strong connection to the Anglo-Saxon heritage and literary traditions of England.
People
Nyle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nyle as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nyle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nyle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,756 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nyle going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 195,190 US residents.
Is Nyle a common name?
We classify Nyle as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,176 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nyle most popular?
The single biggest year for Nyle was 2016, when 96 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nyle is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nyle in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,514 people with the name Nyle, or 0.50 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,266 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Nyle in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Nyle?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nyle leans strongly male. 1,383 people counted with this name were male (91.0%), compared with 136 female bearers (9.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Nyle?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nyle is White at 46.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (17.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Nyle most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nyle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.0% (697 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Nyle in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nyle a male name?
Yes, 98.0% of people registered as Nyle in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Nyle still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nyle in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Nyle can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Nyle?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.