Nils is a Scandinavian given name, a chiefly Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Latvian variant of Niels, cognate to Nicholas.

• Nils Elias Anckers (1858–1921), Swedish naval officer
• Nils Beckman (1902–1972), Swedish jurist and civil servant
• Nils Bergström (born 1985), Swedish ice hockey player
• Nils Björk (1898–1989), Swedish Army lieutenant general
• Nils Dacke (died 1543), Swedish rebel
• 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 Grandelius, Swedish chess grandmaster
• Nils Gründer (born 1997), German politician
• Nils Hald (1897–1963), Norwegian actor
• Nils Haßfurther (born 1999), German basketball player
• Nils-Göran Holmqvist (born 1943), Swedish politician
• Nils Kreicbergs (born 1996), Latvian handball player
• 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 Mohl (born 1971), German writer
• Nils Muižnieks (born 1964), Latvian-American political scientist
• Nils Ohlin (1895–1958), Swedish actor
• 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 Sējējs (born 2001), Latvian ice hockey player
• Nils-Erik Söderqvist (born 1948), Swedish politician
• Nils Trygg (1914–1951), Swedish woodcarver
• Nils Lahr (born 1973), American entrepreneur
• Nils Ušakovs (born 1976), Latvian journalist and politician, Mayor of Riga
• Nils Vilnis (born 1983), Latvian photographer and entrepreneur

• 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 the Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion DLC made by Nintendo.