Niles is an English surname that grew out of the medieval name Nel or Niel, a form of the Irish Niall, which is usually explained as "champion" or "cloud"; it can also be spelled Nyles. The name's best-known bearer is the fictional psychiatrist Niles Crane, Frasier's fussy brother in the sitcom Frasier. In the United States Niles stood at number 1754 in 2000, its best rank in this period, and is number 2506 among boys' names in 2025.