Nigel /ˈnaɪdʒəl/ is an English masculine given name.
The English Nigel is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Sir Walter Scott published The Fortunes of Nigel in 1822, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published Sir Nigel in 1905–06. Nigel was a common name for boys born in England and Wales from the 1950s to the 1970s (see below).
Nigel has never been as common in other countries, 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.
In Australian English it is a colloquial term for a male social misfit or a friendless person, originating from the name being unusual in the 1980s and alliterating with "no-friends" (both start with n).
The name is derived from the Latin Nigellus. This Latin word would at first sight seem to derive from the Latin niger, meaning "black"; however this is now considered an example of an incorrect etymology created by French-speaking clerics, who knew Latin as well, to translate the Norman first name Neel in the Latin written documents. The Latin word nigellus gave birth to Old French neel (modern nielle), meaning “niello, black enamel” and it explains the confusion, because the clerics believed it was the same etymology as the first name Neel, spelled the same way.
The Old Norman first name Neel (modern surname Néel) derives from the Norse Njáll. The Norse Njáll, in turn, is derived from the Gaelic Niall.
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. In 1964 it was the 23rd most popular boys' name.
Nigel D'Oyly (Néel d'Ouilly), Anglo-Norman lordNigel d'Aubigny (Néel d'Aubigny), Norman noblemanNigel, Bishop of Ely (Néel d'Ely), Anglo-Norman bishopNigel de Longchamps, 12th-century English poetNigel Ah Wong, New Zealand Rugby Union playerNigel Ayers, multimedia artistNigel Barker, fashion photographerNigel John Taylor, bass player of Duran DuranNigel Benn, British boxerNigel Bennett, actor, director, and writerNigel Benson, writer and illustratorNigel Blackwell, English lead singer and guitarist of Half Man Half BiscuitNigel Bond, snooker playerNigel Bruce, actorNigel Clough, British footballerNigel Davenport, actorNigel Dick, director, writer, and musicianNigel Edwards (disambiguation)Nigel Evans, British politicianNigel Farage, British politician, MEP (UKIP)Nigel Godrich, recording engineer and record producerNigel Green, actorNigel Gresley, steam locomotive engineerNigel Havers, actorNigel Hawthorne, actorNigel Hayes (born 1994), American basketball playerNigel Haywood, Governor of the Falkland IslandsNigel Hess, British composerNigel Horspool, British-born inventor of the Boyer–Moore–Horspool algorithmNigel Holmes, British graphic designerNigel Irens, British yacht designerNigel de Jong, Dutch footballerNigel Keay, New Zealand violist and composerNigel Kennedy, British violinist and violistNigel Kneale, scriptwriterNigel Latta, psychologistNigel Lawson, British politician, Chancellor of the ExchequerNigel Lythgoe English television, film director and producerNigel Mansell, British racing car driverNigel Martyn, British football goalkeeperNigel Marven, British wildlife television presenter/producer, author, and hobby ornithologistNigel McGuinness, professional wrestlerNigel Melville, English rugby union player, coach, and administratorNigel Miguel, Belizean-American actor, film producer, film commissioner, basketball playerNigel Mitchell, British television presenter and radio presenterNigel Morris, cofounder of Capital OneNigel Olsson, drummer for Elton John, solo recording artistNigel Pivaro, English actor, as Terry Duckworth in Coronation StreetNigel Planer, actorNigel Plum, Australian Rugby League playerNigel Reo-Coker, English footballerNigel Rodgers authorNigel Short, chess playerNigel Smart, Australian rules footballerNigel Stock, actor who played Dr WatsonNigel Vardy, British mountaineerNigel Warburton, philosopherNigel Watson, British blues-rock guitaristNigel West, pen name of Rupert AllasonNigel Williams-Goss (born 1994), American basketball playerNigel Winterburn, former Arsenal and England footballerNigel Worthington, footballer and subsequently manager for, in turn, Blackpool, Norwich City, Leicester City and Northern IrelandNigel Bottom, a poet and playwright in Something Rotten!Sir Nigel Thornberry, fictional wildlife documentary producer from The Wild ThornberrysNigel Tufnel, lead guitarist for the fictional band Spinal TapNigel Olifaunt, Lord Glenvarloch, main character of Sir Walter Scott's novel The Fortunes of NigelSir Nigel (Loring), a novel by Arthur Conan Doyle based on the life of Neil LoringNigel Pargetter, a character on the BBC radio soap opera The ArchersNigel Baker, a character in Cheaper by the Dozen and its sequelNigel Forrester, a character from Bratz Rock Angelz with whom Cloe falls in loveNigel Uno, a fictional character from Codename: Kids Next Door"Making Plans for Nigel", 1979 New Wave hit for English group XTCNigel Powers (played by actor Michael Caine) is a character who appears in the third Austin Powers movie, Austin Powers in Goldmember, as the father of Austin Powers and Dr. EvilNigel Molesworth, schoolboy in 1950s humour books by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald SearleNigel, a pelican in Finding NemoNigel, the gangster ex-husband in Fredrik Bond's Charlie CountrymanNigel "Nidge" Delaney, fictional character played by Tom Vaughan-Lawlor in RTE crime drama TV series Love/HateSir Nigel Irvine, SIS chief in Frederick Forsyth's spy fiction The Fourth ProtocolNigel, a sadistic sulphur-crested cockatoo who is the main antagonist in Rio and Rio 2Nigel Burke, the main character in Surgeon Simulator 2013Nigel, nickname given by the community to the British pilot model in War ThunderNigel Bumble, a fictional character who join The Rooks in Assassin's Creed SyndicateNigel, a Golden Retriever dog belonging to Monty Don, the British television gardening presenter