Neela

At a Glance: Name: Neela – Meaning: blue – Origin: Sanskrit – Gender: Girl – Pronunciation: NEE-lah

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Neela is a Sanskrit name with a simple, literal meaning: blue. It's sometimes described as meaning 'precious as a sapphire,' but that's a poetic embellishment rather than the actual meaning — the word itself just means blue. It's pronounced NEE-lah (/ˈniːlə/) and has both a worldly and clean, modern feel.

Meaning & Origin of Neela

Meaning: Blue.

Origin: Sanskrit.

A common claim: Neela means 'blue', sometimes glossed as 'precious as a sapphire' Actually: The core Sanskrit meaning is simply 'blue'; 'as precious as a sapphire' is a poetic embellishment (sapphires being blue) rather than the literal meaning.

Source: Wiktionary.

How to Pronounce Neela

Phonetic: NEE-lah   IPA: /ˈniːlə/

Popularity of Neela

Neela's most popular year on record was 2007, when it ranked #2000 with 103 babies given the name; by 2024 it had dropped to #3032, with 54 babies.

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration birth-name data, 1972–2024.

Make Neela Name Art

Free printable nursery art for Neela, pre-loaded below — pick a layout, palette, and font, then download a print-ready PNG.

Names With a Similar Story

Derived from shared style, era, and origin data (or, for names we have no style data for, a similar Social Security popularity trajectory) — not a hand-picked list.

• Aanya
• Asha
• Diya
• Esha
• Jaya
• Meera

FAQ

What does the name Neela mean?

Blue. (Source: Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Neela)

How do you pronounce Neela?

Neela is pronounced NEE-lah (IPA: /ˈniːlə/).

Is Neela a popular name right now?

Neela peaked at #2000 in 2007 and is ranked #3032 as of 2024. (U.S. Social Security Administration data, 1972–2024.)

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