Nial

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Nial: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Nial: Recorded since 1964, its highest recorded position is #129, and it stood at #4,608 in 2020.

3registrars recorded it
51times a registrar ranked it
57years from first to last
#129highest recorded position
14groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2020

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1235
1997	#2022
1998	#1000
1999	#1199
2000	#953
2001	#1286
2002	#1651
2003	#1962
2004	#3651
2005	#2418
2006	#3385
2008	#2775
2009	#2318
2010	#4678
2012	#4805
2014	#3362
2016	#4810
2017	#4812
2018	#3412
2020	#4608

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 29 of the 42 years from 1964 to 2005.

In 2005: #518 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #2418 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 3 national registrars across 3 regions, 1964–2020 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #129 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1964–2005
Highest recorded position: #129 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1964 (recorded 1964–2005).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2020
Most recently recorded at #4608 among boys in England and Wales, in 2020.
England and Wales · Boys

Nial appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 29 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 315 births with the name.

Nial across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Nial's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#129 (1964)	#129 (1964)	#518 (2005)	29 of 42	315 (1964–2005)	26 (1972)
England and Wales · Boys	#1235 (1996)	#953 (2000)	#4608 (2020)	20 of 25	134 (1996–2020)	16 (2000)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#277 (2000)	#277 (2000)	#280 (2001)	2 of 2	6 (2000–2001)	3 (2000)

Nial by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Nial in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	65	6 of 10	11
1970sbusiest	144	10 of 10	14
1980s	97	10 of 10	10
1990s	6	2 of 10	3
2000s	3	1 of 10	3

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 1970s were its busiest decade, averaging 14 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Nial appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 3 regions, from 1964 to 2020. Highest recorded position: #129 in Republic of Ireland in 1964.

Nial's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2020	England and Wales	male	#4608	3	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#3412	5	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#4812	3	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#4810	3	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#3362	5	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#4805	3	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#4678	3	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#2318	8	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#2775	6	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#3385	4	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#2418	6	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#3651	3	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1962	7	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1651	8	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1286	11	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#953	16	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1199	11	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1000	14	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#2022	5	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#1235	10	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	male	#280	3	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	male	#277	3	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#518	3	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#369	3	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#323	3	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#253	5	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#235	6	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#303	3	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#217	8	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	male	#218	7	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#174	14	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#186	13	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#196	11	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#176	15	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#184	15	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#218	9	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#198	11	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#234	7	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#154	20	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#177	15	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#173	16	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#227	8	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#138	26	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#184	12	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#146	20	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#146	16	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	male	#177	9	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#196	7	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	male	#150	12	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	male	#207	5	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	male	#129	16	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 3 registrars between 1964 and 2020, ranked in 47 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #129, first reached in 1964.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 26 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1972.

Its record falls into 7 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 5 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 36 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Nia · #209, 30y
Niah · #842, 28y
Niall · #16, 62y
Niam · #833, 29y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 3 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Przemyslaw · #129, 42y
Elisha · #132, 46y
Keelin · #126, 52y
Johnathan · #139, 49y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Emmett · #129, 61y
Mel · #129, 39y
Przemyslaw · #129, 42y
Siobhain · #128, 39y

Nial was ranked #129 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1964. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Nial and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Nial without appearing here.

Nial moved ahead of

Ashleigh Compare
In 2004 they stood at #1962 and #1962 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2005 that had become #2418 and #2754.

Moved ahead of Nial

Theodor Compare
In 2009 they stood at #2318 and #2544 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2010 that had become #4678 and #1201.
Mathias Compare
In 2003 they stood at #1962 and #2470 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2004 that had become #3651 and #1160.
Rune Compare
In 2019 they stood at #3412 and #4749 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2020 that had become #4608 and #2228.
Kasper Compare
In 2003 they stood at #1962 and #2857 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2004 that had become #3651 and #1347.

Moved the opposite way to Nial

Alexander Compare
Between 1964 and 2005 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Nial went from #129 to #518 while Alexander went from #116 to #47.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1964 and 2005 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Nial went from #129 to #518 while Benjamin went from #139 to #55.
Conor Compare
Between 1964 and 2005 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Nial went from #129 to #518 while Conor went from #56 to #4.
Craig Compare
Between 1964 and 2005 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Nial went from #129 to #518 while Craig went from #214 to #89.

Moved the same way as Nial

Adrian Compare
Between 1964 and 2005 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Nial went from #129 to #518 and Adrian from #65 to #196.
Alfred Compare
Between 1964 and 2005 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Nial went from #129 to #518 and Alfred from #134 to #343.
Arthur Compare
Between 1964 and 2005 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Nial went from #129 to #518 and Arthur from #98 to #224.
Denis Compare
Between 1964 and 2005 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Nial went from #129 to #518 and Denis from #21 to #145.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 3 regions, from 1964 to 2020. Highest recorded position: #129 in Republic of Ireland in 1964. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Nial

Nial at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Nial across 3 official records

Nial by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Nial appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Nial

Nial and the names beside it

Nial moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Nial

Moved the opposite way to Nial

Moved the same way as Nial

Nial at a glance

Nial across 3 official records

Nial by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Nial appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Nial

Nial and the names beside it

Nial moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Nial

Moved the opposite way to Nial

Moved the same way as Nial