Nils

Nils is a Scandinavian given name, a chiefly Norwegian, Danish and Swedish variant of Niels, cognate to Nicholas. Female variants are Nilsine, Nilsina, and Nilsa.

People and animals with the given name

• Nils Bergström (born 1985), Swedish ice hockey player
• Nils-Joel Englund (1907–1995), Swedish cross-country skier
• Nils Ericson (1802–1870), Swedish inventor and engineer
• Nils Frahm (born 1982), German pianist and producer
• Nils Frykdahl, American musician
• Nils Jiptner, German jazz guitarist
• Nils Liedholm (1922–2007), Swedish footballer and coach
• Nils Lofgren (born 1951), American musician
• Nils Lorens Sjöberg (1754-1822), Swedish officer and poet
• Nils Mittmann (born 1979), German basketball player
• Nils Muižnieks (born 1964), Latvian-American political scientist
• Nils Olav, a penguin in Edinburgh Zoo who is the mascot of the Norwegian Royal Guard
• Nils Personne (1918–2013), Swedish Air Force lieutenant general
• Nils Petersen (born 1988), German footballer
• Nils Sjöberg (born 1925), Swedish gymnast
• Nils Trygg (1914–1951), Swedish woodcarver
• Nils Lahr (born 1973), American entrepreneur
• Nils Ušakovs (born 1976), Latvian politician, Mayor of Riga
• Nils Dacke (died 1543), Swedish rebel
• Nils Molin (born 1988), Swedish metal singer

Fictional characters with the given name

• Nils (Fire Emblem), the fictional bard in the Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken video game
• Nils Holgersson, the main character of The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, a novel by Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf
• Nils, a character in Double Fines video game Psychonauts
• Nils Helstrom, a character in the 1933 film The Son of Kong
• Nils Hellstrom, the central character of the 1971 film The Hellstrom Chronicle
• Nils Hellstrom, the central character of the 1973 book Hellstrom's Hive by Frank Herbert, inspired by the 1971 film
• Nils Krogstad, a central character of the 1879 play A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
• Nils Jesper, Joan Ferguson's henchman on Wentworth
• NILS Statue, a structure in Nintendo's video game Splatoon 2