Nigel ( ) is an English 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 in 1822, and Arthur Conan Doyle published Sir Nigel in 1905–06. As a name given for boys in 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). The peak popularity at 0.02% of boys' names in 1994 compares to a peak popularity in England and Wales of about 1.2% in 1963, 60 times higher.
Etymology The name is derived from the church Latin . This word was at first assumed to be derived from the classical Latin 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 gave birth to Old French (modern ), meaning "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.Origine et histoire des noms de famille, Marianne Mulon, editions errance, 2002. p 119-120.
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.Nordic Names: origin and etymology of Niall For the etymology of the surname Neill this web page cites: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, .
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.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) In 1964 it was the 23rd most popular boys' name.Baby Names, England and Wales, 1904-1994 (ONS Spreadsheet) By 2016 the number of boys named Nigel had dropped below 3, the minimum number reported by the ONS.
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 1,943 1960 4,383 1963 5,529 1970 2,469 1980 413 1990 125 2000 25 2010 18 2015 9
Medieval figures Nigel (bishop of Ely) (Néel d'Ely) (c. 1100–1169), Anglo-Norman clergyman, administrator, and bishop Nigel d'Aubigny of Cainhoe (?–1090s), Norman knight Nigel d'Aubigny (Néel d'Aubigny) (?–1129), Norman nobleman Nigel de Longchamps, 12th-century English satirist and poet Nigel de Wavere, 14th-century English medieval theologian, churchman, college fellow, and university chancellor Nigel D'Oyly (Néel d'Ouilly), 11th- and 12th-century Anglo-Norman lord Nigel Fossard (?–after 1120), Anglo-Norman nobleman (Néel de Saint-Sauveur), Norman baron at Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte in Cotentin
Notable people named Nigel
Nigel Abbott (1920–2011), Australian politician Nigel Adams (born 1966), English former politician Nigel Ah Wong (born 1990), New Zealand professional rugby union player Nigel Albon (born 1957), British racing driver Nigel Anderson (1920–2008), Australian-born British soldier, landowner, and politician Nigel Andrews (born 1947), English film critic Nigel Anstey (born 1927), British geophysicist Nigel Ashford (born 1952), British political academic and author Nigel Ashurst, New Zealand international footballer Nigel Aspinall (born 1946), English croquet player Nigel Auchterlounie, British comics artist and cartoonist Nigel Avery (born 1967), New Zealand former weightlifter Nigel Ayers (born 1957), English multimedia artist Nigel Badnell (1958–2024), British physicist Nigel Bagnall (1927–2002), British Army officer Nigel Baillie, Scottish past member of indie pop band Camera Obscura (band) Nigel Baker (born 1966), British diplomat Nigel Baker (cricketer) (1914–1968), English cricketer Nigel Balchin (1908–1970), English psychologist and author Nigel Ball (1892–1978), British professor of botany Nigel Barber (born 1955), Irish-born American biopsychologist and author Nigel Barker, several people Nigel Barley, several people Nigel Barr, British musician Nigel Barrie (1889–1971), Indian-born British actor Nigel Batch (born 1957), English former footballer Nigel Beard (1936–2017), British politician Nigel Beaumont (born 1967), English former professional footballer Nigel Bell (born 1962), English former professional rugby league footballer Nigel Benn (born 1964), English former professional boxer Nigel Bennett (born 1949), English-born Canadian actor, director, and writer Nigel Benson (born 1955), British writer and illustrator Nigel Berlyn (1934–2022), English-born senior Royal Australian Navy officer Nigel Bertrams (born 1993), Dutch former professional footballer Nigel Betts, English actor Nigel Bevan (born 1968), English javelin thrower Nigel Bezani, Welsh retired rugby union player Nigel Bishop (born 1976), Grenadian former footballer Nigel Blackwell, English lead singer and guitarist of rock band Half Man Half Biscuit Nigel Bloy (1923–1989), English cricketer and Royal Air Force officer Nigel Boddice (1952–2022), English trumpeter, conductor, and band leader Nigel Bolton (born 1975), English former footballer Nigel Bond (born 1965), English retired professional snooker player Nigel Bonner (1928–1994), British zoologist, Antarctic marine mammal specialist, author, and ecologist Nigel Bonyongwe (born 1994), Zimbabwean cricketer Nigel Boocock (1937–2015), English-born Australian motorcycle speedway rider Nigel Boogaard (born 1986), Australian former professional footballer Nigel Borell (born 1973), New Zealand Māori artist, museum curator, and Māori art advocate Nigel Boston (1961–2024), British-American mathematician Nigel Boulton (born 1953), Welsh-born retired footballer and current American soccer coach Nigel Bowen (1911–1994), Australian lawyer, politician, and judge Nigel Bowen, New Zealand mayor Nigel Bradham (born 1989), American former NFL player Nigel Bradshaw (born 1951), British-born Australian actor Nigel Brady (born 1979), Irish former rugby union footballer Nigel Braun, real name of NileRed (born 1991), Canadian YouTuber Nigel Brennan (born 1972), Australian photojournalist and author Nigel Bridge, Baron Bridge of Harwich (1917–2007), British judge Nigel Briers (born 1955), English former cricketer Nigel Broackes (1934–1999), English businessman Nigel Brookes (born 1967), Australian former cricketer Nigel Brooks (1926–2024), English composer, arranger, and conductor Nigel Broomfield (1937–2018), British diplomat Nigel Brothers, Australian author and biologist Nigel Brouwers (1976–2021), South African cricketer Nigel Brown (born 1949), New Zealand painter Nigel Brown, British chairman Nigel Bruce (1895–1953), English stage-and screen character actor Nigel Bruce (journalist) (born 1942), South African journalist and politician Nigel Buesst (1938–2024), Australian filmmaker Nigel Burch (born 1954), English songwriter, musician, poet, and graphic artist Nigel Burgess, several people Nigel Burton (born 1976), American football commentator and former head coach Nigel Butterley (1935–2022), Australian composer and pianist Nigel Buxton (1924–2015), British travel writer and wine critic Nigel Cabourn (born 1949), English fashion designer Nigel Calder (1931–2014), English science writer and climate change skeptic Nigel Callaghan (born 1962), Singaporean-born English former professional footballer Nigel Capel-Cure (1908–2004), English cricketer Nigel Carolan (born 1974), Irish rugby union coach Nigel Carr (born 1959), Northern Irish former rugby union international player Nigel Carr (American football) (born 1990), American former football player Nigel Carrington, British lawyer and academic leader Nigel Carter (born 1945), English environmentalist and politician Nigel Casey (born 1969), British diplomat Nigel Cassidy (1945–2008), English footballer Nigel Cawthorne (born 1951), English freelance writer and editor Nigel Cayzer (born 1954), British businessman and chairman Nigel Channing, American host of Journey into Imagination with Figment Nigel Chapman, several people Nigel Clarke, several people Nigel Cleere (born 1955), English ornithologist Nigel Cliff (born 1969), British biographer, historian, translator, and critic Nigel Clifford (born 1959), British businessman and academic administrator Nigel Clough (born 1966), English professional football manager and former player Nigel Cluer (born 1953), Australian former swimmer Nigel Clutton (born 1954), English former footballer Nigel Coan, British animator, director, and writer Nigel Coates, several people Nigel Cochrane (born 1961), Canadian sailor Nigel Cock (born 1946), English former cricketer Nigel Cockburn (?–1957), South African tennis player Nigel Codrington (born 1979), Guyanese former footballer Nigel Colborn, English TV presenter and gardening expert/writer Nigel Cole (born 1959), English film- and television director Nigel Collett (born 1952), British former army lieutenant-colonel and author Nigel Collins, several people Nigel Colman, several people Nigel Connell, Irish contestant on The Voice of Ireland series 5 Nigel Connor (born 1970), Anguillian football manager Nigel Cook (born 1954), English former cricketer Nigel Cooke (born 1973), British painter Nigel Corbet Fletcher (1877–1951), English international rugby union player Nigel Cornwall (1903–1984), English Anglican clergyman Nigel Costello (born 1968), English former professional footballer Nigel Coultas, British Paralympic high jumper Nigel Cowie, British banker Nigel Cowley (born 1953), English former cricketer Nigel Cox, several people Nigel Crabtree (born 1960), English former motorcycle speedway rider Nigel Crawford (born 1979), Irish Gaelic footballer Nigel Crisp, Baron Crisp (born 1952), British crossbench life peer Nigel Cross (born 1942), British academic, design researcher, educator, and emeritus professor of design studies Nigel Crouch (born 1958), English former professional footballer Nigel Cullen (1917–1941), Australian fighter ace of World War II Nigel Cutland, British professor of mathematics Nigel D. Oram (1919–2003), English-born Australian public servant, academic, ethnologist, and anthropologist Nigel Dakin (born 1964), British soldier, diplomat, and former Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands Nigel Davenport (1928–2013), English stage-, television-, and film actor Nigel David Ward (1943–2024), Canadian-born British Royal Navy officer Nigel Davies, several people Nigel Davis (born 1951), Welsh former judge Nigel De'ath (born 1965), English former speedway rider Nigel Debenham, New Zealand former association footballer Nigel De Brulier (1877–1948), English stage- and film actor Nigel de Freitas (born 1979), Trinidadian politician Nigel de Grey (1886–1951), British codebreaker Nigel de Gruchy (born 1943), British former trade union official Nigel de Jong (born 1984), Dutch former professional footballer Nigel Dempster (1941–2007), Indian-born Scottish-English journalist Nigel Dennis (1912–1989), English writer, critic, playwright, and magazine editor Nigel Dick (born 1953), English director, writer, and musician Nigel Dineen, Irish politician and former Gaelic football manager and player Nigel Dobbs (born 1962), English former cricketer