The full name of Niles the butler in The Nanny is never officially given in the series—his last name is deliberately never revealed, and he even jokes that he’s “just Niles… like Cher”.

Quick answer

  • On-screen name: Niles
  • Full canonical name: Not provided in the show
  • Actor: Daniel Davis

What the show actually says

In one episode, Fran asks Niles for his family surname. His reply:

“It’s just Niles… like Cher.”

This line is a clear meta-joke: he has no publicly used last name, just a single-word name. There is also a subtle hint in Season 3, Episode 1, where C.C. asks him, “So, Rochester? What did you do to kill the day before I came?” This suggests Rochester might be a first name or nickname, but it’s never confirmed as his actual full name on the show.

Fan theories and outside sources

Some fan wikis and forums have proposed fanciful full names:

  • Edward Ebenezer Niles (a joking, invented full name from The Nanny Wiki)
  • Various users on Reddit simply say “It was never mentioned” or joke “Niles De Butler”

These are not official; they are fan inventions or jokes, not something written into the script or confirmed by the producers.

Why the mystery matters

The show deliberately treats Niles as a single-name character to:

  • Emphasize his eccentric, almost caricature-like British-butler persona
  • Play with the trope of famous people known by one name (like Cher)
  • Add a light, recurring gag about his “incomplete” identity

So if you’re writing something formal (a quiz, trivia, or article), the correct factual answer is:

Niles’s full name is never given in The Nanny.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.