Given name
Nilay
“house, abode, residence”
Nilay is a masculine given name from Sanskrit, meaning “house, abode, residence.” It is used in English, Turkish, and Tagalog.
Meaning & origin
How it developed
In Filipino usage, Nilay is a diminutive of PETRONILA.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1974. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Nilay through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 262
- 240 boys · 22 girls
- Most popular year
- 2009
- 16 babies
- 2025
- 11
- #11,613 for boys · #16,599 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,613 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 12 in 2006. It also appeared in 5 birth records for girls in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 651 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Nilay’s family of names
In Filipino usage, Nilay is a diminutive of PETRONILA. In English usage, Nilay has a conventional equivalent in the Hindi form निलय. In Hindi usage, Nilay is a Roman-alphabet rendering of निलय.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Nilay
- Nilay KartaltepeTurkish basketball player (born 1979)
- Nilay DenizTurkish actor (born 1993)
- Nilay KonarTurkish volleyball player (born 1980)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Nilay, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sibi
Sibi is a masculine given name from Tamil, ultimately from Sanskrit.
50% boys · 50% girls
Preet
“love, affection, fondness”
59% boys · 41% girls
Nijay
54% boys · 46% girls
Nekoda
85% boys · 15% girls
Rilley
“from the small brook”
49% boys · 51% girls
Jiwoo
38% boys · 62% girls
Koli
“bald”
62% boys · 38% girls
Jezreel
“The Lord provides”
76% boys · 24% girls