Nila
Nila means Blue, moon, river of moonlight.
Meaning as commonly given; not from a dictionary.
| Gender | girl |
| Origin | Dravidian |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Starts with | N |
In the epics
Nila appears in the Rāmāyaṇa as a ally: Great valiant ape.
Source: Drimigo Scripture KG (CC BY 4.0). Many characters share a name across the epics — this is one notable figure who bore it, not a claim about the name's only meaning.
Names with a similar meaning
Names that share a word with “Blue, moon, river of moonlight”. Meanings are the common reading rather than a ruling — the same name is often glossed differently by different sources.
- Maira — Beloved, moonlight, admirable
- Sini — Pure, clear, moonlight
- Sowmya — Meanings families give: Gracious, calm, born of moonlight; Gentle, soft, pleasing; Gentle, calm, mild, Goddess Parvati; Gentle, soft, pleasing, calm
- Rakesh — Meanings families give: Lord of the full moon night, master of moonlight; Lord of full moon night; Lord of the full moon night
- Chandni — Moonlight, moonbeam
- Jyotsna — Meanings families give: Moonlight, the goddess of moonlight; Moonlight, bright night; Moonlight, glowing, luminous
More girls' names of Dravidian origin
Where this comes from
Nila has no entry in the classical Sanskrit dictionary we check against, which is common for modern and non-Sanskrit names. Its meaning comes from our compiled name corpus, the least-sourced dataset on this site — we say so plainly on Sources & methodology rather than implying an authority we cannot name.