Male given name
Nigel Gender Male Word/name Niall -> Njáll -> Neel , Niel , Nihel -> Nigellus -> NigelMeaning ultimately from the Gaelic Niall Region of origin Normandy and EnglandRelated names Nigella (female)
Nigel ( NY -jəlEnglish masculine given name .
The English Nigel is found in records dating from the Middle Ages ; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians . For instance, Walter Scott published The Fortunes of Nigel [ 1] Arthur Conan Doyle published Sir Nigel England and Wales , it peaked in popularity from the 1950s to the 1970s (see below ).
Nigel has never been as common in other countries as it is in Britain, but was among the 1,000 most common names for boys born in the United States from 1971 to 2010. Numbers peaked in 1994 when 447 were recorded (it was the 478th most common boys' name that year).[ 2] England and Wales of about 1.2% in 1963, 60 times higher.
Etymology
The name is derived from the church Latin Nigellus nigellus (meaning dark). However, this is now considered an example of an incorrect etymology passed down and created by French-speaking clerics , who knew Latin as well and translated the Norman first name Neel to Latin written documents, as was conventional in Western Europe at the time. The Latin word nigellus Old French neel nielle niello , black enamel"; and this explains the confusion with Nigel, because the clerics believed it was the same etymology as the first name Neel , spelled the same way.[ 3]
However Nigel, via medieval Latin Nigellus and subsequently Norman Neel (modern surname Néel ), and Norse Njáll , is ultimately derived from the Gaelic Irish given name Niall [ 4] [ 5]
England and Wales
The following table shows the number of boys given the first name Nigel in specific years in England and Wales . Numbers peaked in about 1963.[ 6] [ 7] [ 8] [ 9] ONS .[ 10]
Year
Number
1840
1
1850
2
1860
1
1870
7
1880
8
1890
10
1900
18
1910
24
1920
71
1930
164
1940
445
1950
1943
1960
4383
1963
5529
1970
2469
1980
413
1990
125
2000
25
2010
18
2015
9
Notable people named Nigel
Nigel Ah Wong (born 1990), New Zealand rugby playerNigel Ayers (born 1957), English multimedia artistNigel Barker (born 1972), English fashion photographerNigel Benn (born 1964), British boxerNigel Bennett (born 1949), Anglo-Canadian actor, director, and writerNigel Benson (born 1955), British writer and illustratorNigel Blackwell , English lead singer and guitarist of Half Man Half Biscuit Nigel Bond (born 1965), British snooker playerNigel Bonner (1928–1994), British zoologist and Antarctic marine mammal specialistNigel Bruce (1895–1953), British actorNigel Buesst (1938–2024), Australian filmmakerNigel Butterley (1935–2022), Australian composer and pianistNigel Clough (born 1966), English footballerNigel Cullen (1917–1941), Australian fighter ace of World War IINigel Cumberland , British authorNigel Dakin (born 1964), soldier, diplomat and Governor of the Turks and Caicos IslandsNigel Davenport (1928–2013), English actorNigel Dick (born 1953), English director, writer, and musicianNigel Dodds (born 1958), British/Northern Irish politician, MP (DUP)Nigel Edwards (disambiguation) , multiple peopleNigel Evans (born 1957), British politicianNigel Farage (born 1964), British politician, former MEP (Reform UK)Nigel Fountain (born 1944), British writer, journalist, editor and broadcasterNigel Glockler (born 1953), English drummer of the heavy metal band Saxon Nigel Godrich (born 1971), English recording engineer and record producerNigel Green (1924–1972), British actorNigel Gresley (1876–1941), British steam locomotive engineerNigel Harris (disambiguation) , multiple peopleNigel Harte , Westmeath Gaelic footballerNigel Havers (born 1951), English actorNigel Hawthorne (1929–2001), English actorNigel Hayes (born 1994), American basketball playerNigel Haywood (born 1955), Governor of the Falkland IslandsNigel Healey (born 1957), British-New Zealand academicNigel Hess (born 1953), British composerNigel Horspool , British-born inventor of the Boyer–Moore–Horspool algorithmNigel Holmes (born 1942), British graphic designerNigel Irens , British yacht designerNigel de Jong (born 1984), Dutch footballerNigel Keay (born 1955), New Zealand violist and composerNigel Kennedy (born 1956), British violinist and violistNigel Kneale (1922–2006), British scriptwriterNigel Latta (born 1967), New Zealand psychologistNigel Lawson (1932–2023), British politician, Chancellor of the ExchequerNigel Lythgoe (born 1949), English television director, producer and hostNigel Mansell (born 1953), British racing car driverNigel Martyn (born 1966), British football goalkeeperNigel Marven (born 1960), British wildlife television presenter/producer, author, and hobby ornithologistNigel McGuinness (born 1976), British wrestlerNigel Melville (born 1961), English rugby player, coach, and administratorNigel Miguel (born 1963), Belizean-American actor, film producer, film commissioner, basketball playerNigel Mitchell , British television presenter and radio presenterNigel Morris (born 1958), British businessman and co-founder of Capital OneNigel Murch (1944–2020), Australian cricketerNigel Ng (born 1991), Malaysian stand-up comedianNigel Northridge (born 1956), British businessmanNigel Oakes (born 1962), British businessmanNigel Olsson (born 1949), drummer for Elton John, solo recording artistNigel Owens (born 1971), Welsh rugby refereeNigel Pivaro (born 1959), English actorNigel Planer (born 1953), English actorNigel Plum , Australian rugby playerNigel Poor , American podcasterNigel Reo-Coker (born 1984), English footballerNigel Richards (born 1967), five time World Scrabble ChampionNigel Rodgers (born 1952), British authorNigel Roberts , British computer scientistNigel Short (born 1965), English chess playerNigel Slater (born 1958), English food writer and broadcasterNigel Smart (born 1969), Australian footballerNigel Stanford , New Zealand composerNigel Stock (1919–1986), English actorNigel John Taylor (born 1960), bass player of Duran Duran Nigel Vardy , British mountaineerNigel Warburton , British philosopherNigel Watson (1947–2019), British blues-rock guitaristNigel Williams-Goss (born 1994), American basketball playerNigel Winterburn (born 1963), English footballerNigel Worthington (born 1961), Northern Irish footballer and manager
Fictional characters
Good Dog Nigel, the titular character in a poem from John Lennon 's 1964 book In His Own Write
Nigel, an Englishman in the movie She's Out of Control
Nigel Bathgate, a journalist, in the detective novel A Man Lay Dead Dame Ngaio Marsh
Nigel Bottom, a poet and playwright in Something Rotten!
Nigel Cronin, a character from the 1991 black comedy movie Drop Dead Fred
Nigel Chapman, a character in Agatha Christie 's novel Hickory Dickory Dock
Lieutenant Colonel Nigel Chessum, a redcoat officer in the CBS series Ghosts
Nigel Olifaunt, Lord Glenvarloch, main character of Sir Walter Scott 's novel The Fortunes of Nigel
Sir Nigel Neil Loring Nigel Pargetter , a character on the BBC radio soap opera The Archers Nigel Baker, a character in Cheaper by the Dozen its sequel
Nigel Forrester, a character from Bratz Rock Angelz
"Making Plans for Nigel ", 1979 New Wave hit for English group XTC
Nigel Powers (played by actor Michael Caine ) is a character who appears in the third Austin Powers movie, Austin Powers in Goldmember Austin Powers and Dr. Evil
Principal Nigel Brown, a character on The Amazing World of Gumball
Nigel Molesworth , schoolboy in 1950s humour books by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle Nigel Moon , one of the many brothers of the character Daphne Moon in the TV series Frasier Nigel Vilancey from the movie Jumanji
Nigel, a character in Ellis Peters 's novel The Devil's Novice
Nigel, a brown pelican and character in the 2003 Disney /Pixar animated film Finding Nemo
Nigel, the gangster ex-husband in Fredrik Bond's Charlie Countryman
Nigel, a spam message and character in the 2009 Rockstar Games appearing in videogame Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Nigel, a stranger and freaks character in the 2013 Rockstar Games appearing in videogame Grand Theft Auto V
Nigel "Nidge" Delaney, character played by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor in RTÉ crime drama TV series Love/Hate
Nigel Gearsley, a British race car appearing in Cars 2
Sir Nigel Irvine, SIS chief in Frederick Forsyth's spy novel The Fourth Protocol
Nigel, a sadistic sulphur-crested cockatoo who is the main antagonist in the Rio
Nigel Burke, the main character in Surgeon Simulator 2013
Nigel, nickname given by the community to the British pilot model in the video game War Thunder
Nigel Bumble, a novice adventurer who joins The Rooks in the video game Assassin's Creed Syndicate
Nigel, an agoraphobic sheep dog in the New Zealand film The Price of Milk
Nigel, played by Hugh Grant, in the movie Bitter Moon
Sir Nigel Thornberry , wildlife documentary producer from The Wild Thornberrys
Nigel Tufnel , lead guitarist for the fictional band Spinal TapNigel Ratburn, an anthropomorphic rat and elementary school teacher, in the Arthur
Nigel Planter, a character from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
Nigel Uno (Numbuh 1 ), a character from Codename: Kids Next Door
Nigel Wolpert , a Gryffindor wizard from the Harry Potter franchiseNigel, a swordsman elf who is the player character in the 1992 action role-playing game for the Sega Genesis, Landstalker
Dog
Nigel , a Golden Retriever dog that belonged to Monty Don , a British television gardening presenter.
References
^ Hanks, Patrick ; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Hardcastle, Kate (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of Names (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1 ^ SueKunkel. "Popular Baby Names" . Retrieved 1 November 2016 . ^ Origine et histoire des noms de famille , Marianne Mulon , editions errance, 2002. p 119.^ Nordic Names: origin and etymology of Niall [1]
^ "Neill Name Meaning and History" . Ancestry.com . Retrieved 2 August 2009 .Neill this web page cites: Dictionary of American Family Names , Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 .^ Extracted from indexes of births registered in England and Wales in www.ancestry.co.uk . Numbers for some years may contain some duplication with boys appearing twice in the index.^ Baby Names, England and Wales, 2010 (ONS Spreadsheet) ^ Baby Names, England and Wales, 2015 (ONS Spreadsheet) ^ Baby Names, England and Wales, 1904-1994 (ONS Spreadsheet) ^ "No Brexit bounce for the name Nigel" . BBC. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017 .
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