Girl · Tamil
Nila
நிலாSay it NI-laa
- Meaning
- Moonlight; the moon; light, splendour Tamil Lexicon, p. 2278
- Say it
- NI-laa
- Written
- நிலா
- Other spellings
- Nilaa
Nila
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Nila meaning
Nila (நிலா) is a Tamil girl's name.
Moonlight; the moon; light, splendour
Nila (நிலா) is the Tamil word nilā. The Tamil Lexicon of the University of Madras gives three senses, moonlight, the moon itself, and light or splendour, citing the classical Nālaṭiyār and the devotional Tiruvācakam, and relates it to the verb nilāvu-. It also notes the related Malayalam nilā and Telugu nela, so the word is shared across south India. Name lists give Nila as "moon", in line with the dictionary, and it forms the end of names such as Vennila, "white moon". It should not be confused with Sanskrit nīla, "dark blue", a different word that is sometimes spelt the same way in English.
Source: Tamil Lexicon, University of Madras (1924–36), p. 2278 · entry nilā (நிலா) · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
References: Tamil Lexicon, nilā, p. 2278
Popularity abroad
- #610 England and Wales, girls 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.
Spellings
Nila · Nilaa