Jan vs Nils
Jan and Nils compared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Boys
In 2025, Jan was ranked #149 and Nils #61 among boys in Norway.
England and Wales · Boys
In 2025, Jan was ranked #639 and Nils #4275 among boys in England and Wales.
Jan and Nils over time
Higher on the chart is a stronger position. The scale is logarithmic, so the gap from #1 to #10 is drawn as large as the gap from #100 to #1,000.
Higher on the chart is a stronger position. The scale is logarithmic, so the gap from #1 to #10 is drawn as large as the gap from #100 to #1,000.
Jan and Nils over time
Jan and Nils appear together in 2 published lists, across 106 years of shared records. Jan held the stronger position in more years in 2 of them, Nils in 0.
The order between them changed and held in one of those lists — a change in that published list, never a claim that one name displaced the other.
Each reached its own highest recorded position first in 1 of the lists they share.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- One moved ahead of the other
In 2019, Nils moved ahead of Jan in Norway · Boys — #97 and #109 the year before became #103 and #84.
- Repeatedly exchanged positions
Jan and Nils changed places 7 times in Norway · Boys between 1945 and 2025, ending at #149 and #61.
- Closest over the longest run
Across 81 shared years in Norway · Boys, Jan and Nils averaged 41.6 places apart, ending at #149 and #61.
- Longest-running competitions
Jan and Nils were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 81 years, from 1945 to 2025, ending at #149 and #61.
- Peaked in the same years
Both reached their highest recorded position in Norway · Boys within 2 years — Jan #1 in 1946, Nils #21 in 1947.
List by list
Norway · Boys81 shared years, 1945–2025
Jan held the stronger position in 68 of those years, Nils in 13.
Highest recorded here: Jan #1 in 1946, Nils #21 in 1947.
The order changed in 2019: Nils moved ahead. In 2018 they stood at #97 and #109; by 2019 that had become #103 and #84.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Jan #149, Nils #61.
England and Wales · Boys25 shared years, 1996–2025
Jan held the stronger position in 25 of those years, Nils in 0.
Highest recorded here: Jan #226 in 2017, Nils #1746 in 2001.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Jan #639, Nils #4275.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Jan | Nils |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Editorially researched profile | Official statistical record (evidence-only) |
| Gender usage | male | male |
| Meaning | A form of Johannes used across many European languages, from Hebrew Yochanan via Greek Ioannes — 'Yahweh is gracious'. | Not yet recorded |
| Origin | Hebrew, via Dutch/Scandinavian/Central European transmission | Not yet recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈjɑːn/ | |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | New South Wales, Australia, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Norway, New Zealand | England and Wales, Republic of Ireland, Norway |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Boys #149 (2025) | Norway · Boys #61 (2025) |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Jan has a recorded origin (Hebrew, via Dutch/Scandinavian/Central European transmission); Nils does not have one recorded yet.
- Jan and Nils both have 1 syllable.
- A meaning is recorded for Jan; Nils doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in GB-ENW, IE, NO.
How each name got here
Jan
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #2 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #1 among boys in Norway, in 1946 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #639 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys
Nils
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #26 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #21 among boys in Norway, in 1947 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #4275 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys