UK girl's name
Idil
A Turkish feminine given name derived from the word "Idil" meaning river, stream, or rivulet.
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2021. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Idil is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Idil popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2021 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3519, with 6 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2002, with 10 births.
This profile covers 148 England and Wales registrations across 23 recorded years from 1996 to 2021. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 60% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 147 living people in the UK are called Idil. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2022 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Idil ranked #3519 for girls in England and Wales in 2021, with 6 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2002, when 10 girls were registered as Idil.
- • About 147 living people in the UK are estimated to have Idil as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#3519
2021
Births in 2021
6
Latest year
Peak year
2002
10 births
Estimated living
147
2026
Meaning
What does Idil mean?
The name Idil has its origins in the Turkish language, where it is derived from the old Turkic word "idel" which means "river" or "waterway." The name can be traced back to the ancient Turkic peoples who inhabited the regions around the Volga River, which was referred to as "Idel" in the old Turkic tongue.
The name Idil gained prominence during the rise of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled over a vast territory spanning parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa. The Ottomans were a Turkic people, and their language and culture heavily influenced the naming traditions of the regions under their rule.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Idil can be found in the "Divan-ı Lügat-it Türk," a renowned 11th-century dictionary of Turkic languages compiled by the scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari. This work served as an important reference for understanding the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Turkic peoples.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Idil. One such person was Idil Biret, a renowned Turkish classical pianist who was born in 1941 and is celebrated for her interpretations of the works of Chopin and other composers. Another was Idil Üner, a Turkish actress and model born in 1971, who gained recognition for her roles in various Turkish television series and films.
In the realm of literature, Idil was the name of a character in the novel "The Black Book" by the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006. This fictional character represented the complexities and contradictions of modern Turkish identity.
Moving beyond the Turkic world, the name Idil has also been adopted and adapted in other cultures. In the Scandinavian region, the name Idil is sometimes used as a variant of the name Idun, which is derived from the Old Norse goddess of spring and rejuvenation.
It is worth noting that while the name Idil has its roots in the Turkic linguistic and cultural heritage, it has transcended its origins and has been embraced by diverse communities around the world, each adding their own unique interpretations and associations to this name.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Idil over time
The chart below shows babies named Idil registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2021. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Idil, the clearest high point is 2002. The latest England and Wales figure is 6 births in 2021, compared with 10 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Idil by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Idil was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #4506 | 9 | 2 |
| 2010s | #4257 | 35 | 7 |
| 2000s | #2659 | 74 | 10 |
| 1990s | #2069 | 30 | 4 |
Related
Names similar to Idil
- Isabella 58,822
- Isla 51,854
- Isabelle 46,163
- Imogen 33,758
- Ivy 23,306
- Isabel 20,895
- Isobel 19,706
- Iris 10,353
- India 8,371
- Iqra 4,452
- Indie 3,873
- Iona 3,682
FAQ
Idil: questions and answers
How popular is the name Idil in the UK right now?
In 2021, Idil was ranked #3519 for girls in England and Wales, with 6 births registered.
When was Idil most popular?
The peak year on record was 2002, with 10 babies registered as Idil in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Idil?
A Turkish feminine given name derived from the word "Idil" meaning river, stream, or rivulet.
How many people are called Idil in the UK?
A total of 148 babies have been registered as Idil across the 23 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.