Where does “Nils” come from?

Nils (Latvian) comes from Swedish Nils, from Latin Nīcolāus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος, from Ancient Greek λᾱός, from Proto-Hellenic lāwós, from Proto-Indo-European leh₂wos, from Proto-Indo-European leh₂- — to bark, howl; to be concealed.

Ancestry of “Nils”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1SwedishNils
2LatinNīcolāus
3Ancient GreekΝικόλαοςNicolas
4Ancient Greekλᾱόςpeople; men; the people
5Proto-Helleniclāwóspeople, crowd
6Proto-Indo-Europeanleh₂wospeople
7Proto-Indo-Europeanleh₂-to bark, howl; to be concealed
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leh₂-
Nils — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer