boy's name
Nahil
na-EEL
- Origin Arabic
- Gender Boy
- Letters 5
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 9,110
France
#181
2025 births
Nahil is a boy's name of Arabic origin meaning "one who quenches thirst," and in a desert vocabulary that reads as generosity rather than as water. It ranks 181st in France and is rising in our data.
- Nahil is a name of Arabic origin.
- Peaked in France in 2017, when 725 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,902 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1991.
Nahil over time
Births per decade in France, 1990s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 15 |
| 2000s | 575 |
| 2010s | 4,920 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,575 |
What Nahil means
Nahil means one who drinks his fill, or one who gives drink. The Arabic root nahala covers both sides of the exchange, and applied to a person it reads as generous — someone who satisfies need.
Where Nahil comes from
Nahil comes from the Arabic root n-h-l, associated with drinking one's fill and with giving drink. In a desert vocabulary the ability to satisfy thirst is a form of generosity rather than a physical act, which is why the name reads as open-handed rather than merely hydrated — a shift most translations lose. The same root gives manhal, a watering place. Nahil is also read by some sources as a form of Nahl, a bee, which is the title of sura 16 of the Quran; that reading is weaker and the drinking sense is better supported. The name is largely Maghrebi in French use, and its appearance in the charts is recent enough that Nahyl, a respelling that ranks separately at 187th, has emerged alongside it.
Nahil in use
Nahil ranks 181st in France with about 460 births in 2025 and is rising in our data with a peak in 2017. Our records carry it from 1991. It is effectively absent elsewhere at 13,122nd in the United States and does not appear in the British tables at all. Nahyl, the alternative French spelling, ranks 187th, so the two together stand considerably higher.
How popular is Nahil?
In 2025, Nahil was given to 310 babies in France, ranking #181 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Nahil is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Nahil is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Nahïl | Nahïl is Nahil written with a diaeresis, used in France, where it ranks #335. | 1,225 |
| Nâhil | Nâhil is a rare spelling of Nahil, written with a circumflex and recorded about 10 times, mostly in France. | 10 |
| Nahîl | Nahîl is a rare spelling of Nahil, written with a circumflex and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Nahil
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Nahil also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Nahil over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Nahil in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Nahil
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Nahil — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Nahil
What does the name Nahil mean?
Nahil means "one who quenches thirst" — in Arabic that reads as generosity rather than as a physical act.
Is Nahil the same as Nahyl?
Yes, a French respelling. They rank six places apart and are counted separately.
Does Nahil mean bee?
Some sources give that from nahl, the title of sura 16, but the drinking sense is better supported.
How popular is Nahil?
181st in France, and almost unused elsewhere.
Is Nahil a girl's or a boy's name?
Nahil is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
Is Nahil a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Nahil currently ranks #181 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.