Nigel

Spellings & scripts●

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 3 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Nigel is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name33K records spelled Nigel10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United Kingdom, United States, France, Spain

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French

  Also written Nígel, Nigël, Nígêl

• Russian given name1.3K records spelled Nigel10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United Kingdom, United States, Russia, New Zealand

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian

  Also written Нигель, Найджел, Нигел, Наиджел, Наиджэл

• Bulgarian given name835 records spelled Nigel10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United Kingdom, United States, Bulgaria, Croatia

  Languages: Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovenian

  Also written Нигел, Niġel, Најџел, Najdžel

59 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Nigel is also recorded in 4 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Irish, From Irish Niall via Njal and Latinised Nigellus; used in Ireland since the 15th century.

  as a name·Irish first names

• Anglicized form of the medieval name Nigellus, a Latinized version (ostensibly representing a diminutive of Latin niger ‘black’) of the vernacular Ni(h)el, i.e. Neil. Although it is frequently found in medieval records, this form was probably not used in everyday life before its

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A male given name from Latin, of mostly British usage.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• English: Anglicized form of the medieval name Nigellus , a Latinized version (ostensibly representing a diminutive of Latin niger black) of the vernacular Ni(h)el , i.e. NEIL . Although it is frequently found in medieval records, this form was probably not used in everyday life before its revival by antiquarians such as Sir Walter Scott in the 19th century. Feminine: Nigella .

  as a word

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 87 years between 1915–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Nigel Bruceb. 1895GBBritish actor (1895-1953)
• Nigel Stockb. 1919GBBritish actor (1919-1986)
• Nigel Hawthorneb. 1929GBBritish actor (1929–2001)
• Nigel Lawsonb. 1932GBBritish peer and politician (1932–2023)
• Sam Neillb. 1947NZnot in their usual nameNew Zealand actor (1947–2026)
• Nigel Mansellb. 1953GBBritish racing driver (born 1953)
• Nigel Kennedyb. 1956GBBritish-born violinist and violist (born 1956)
• Mr. Brexitb. 1964GBnot in their usual nameBritish politician
• Nigel Shortb. 1965GBEnglish chess player and writer
• Nigel Godrichb. 1971GBEnglish record producer and sound engineer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 591 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Nigel?

We estimate roughly 18 thousand people bear Nigel (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Nigel have the most bearers?

Nigel is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled nigel.

Where is Nigel most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Nigel is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 876 people — even though United Kingdom holds more of our records for it.

How common is Nigel compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Nigel is the 185th most common given name of 369,273 given names recorded there.

Is Nigel a male or female name?

Nigel is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Nigel mean?

Recorded meaning: From Latin and Greek; means “black, dark”; used for men.