Nila is a Sanskrit name meaning "dark blue" or "sapphire", the color associated with the god Krishna, and in Tamil it also means "moon". The Nile river gives the name an African echo, and the sound sits comfortably next to Nyla, Mila and Lila. In the United States Nila peaked at number 1513 in 2022 and ranks number 1754 among girls' names in 2025.