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Nigel

{{short description|Male given name}}

{{other uses}}

{{Infobox Given name

| name = Nigel

| image = Sir Nigel 3 (cropped) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Illustration from the book Sir Nigel

| gender = Male

| meaning = ultimately from the Gaelic Niall

| related names = Nigella (female)

| region = Normandy and England

| origin = Niall -> Njáll -> Neel, Niel, Nihel -> Nigellus -> Nigel

| footnotes =

}}

Nigel ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|aɪ|dʒ|əl}} {{respell|NY|jəl}}) 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,{{cite book|title=Oxford Dictionary of Names|last1=Hanks|first1=Patrick|last2=Hodges|first2=Flavia|editor=Hardcastle, Kate|author-link1=Patrick Hanks|year=2006|edition=2nd|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-861060-1|page=205}} 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).{{cite web|url=http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/|title=Popular Baby Names|last=SueKunkel|access-date=1 November 2016}} 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 {{lang|la|Nigellus}}. 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 {{lang|la|nigellus}} gave birth to Old French {{lang|fro|neel}} (modern {{lang|fr|nielle}}), 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 [https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Niall]{{cite web|url=http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Neill-name-meaning.ashx|title=Neill Name Meaning and History|access-date=2 August 2009|publisher=Ancestry.com}} For the etymology of the surname Neill this web page cites: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|0-19-508137-4}}.

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.[http://www.ancestry.co.uk 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.[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/baby-names--england-and-wales/2010/2010-boys-names.xls Baby Names, England and Wales, 2010 (ONS Spreadsheet)][https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/datasets/babynamesenglandandwalesbabynamesstatisticsboys/2015/2015boysnamesfinal.xls Baby Names, England and Wales, 2015 (ONS Spreadsheet)] In 1964 it was the 23rd most popular boys' name.[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/baby-names--england-and-wales/1904-1994/top-100-baby-names-historical-data.xls 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.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41332138 | title=No Brexit bounce for the name Nigel | date=20 September 2017 | agency=BBC | access-date=20 September 2017}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align: right"
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

Medieval figures

Notable people named Nigel

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Fictional characters

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Dog

  • Nigel, a Golden Retriever dog that belonged to Monty Don, a British television gardening presenter.

References

{{Reflist}}

Category:Given names

Category:English given names

Category:English masculine given names

Category:Masculine given names

Category:Slang