Nihal has two main sources: in Persian and Turkish it means "young plant" or "sapling", a symbol of new growth, while in Punjabi and Hindi it is read as "content" or "joyful". It is given by Muslim, Sikh and Hindu families alike. In the United States Nihal stood at number 4167 in 2000, peaked at number 2875 in 2014 and sits at number 2971 in 2025.