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Nigel

#2,088 in 2025Boys' name

Slightly black

Nigel has been given to 12,371 babies in the U.S. since 1929. In 2025 it ranked #2,088 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1994, with 448 recorded.

Babies named Nigel, 2025

1 in 46,700

Nigel over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
020040060018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Nigel: meaning, origin, and history

Slightly black

Latin and English

What Nigel means

Nigel means “slightly black”, associated with nigellus.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

English form of Latin Nigellus, from nigellus (“slightly black”), diminutive of niger (“black”), used in the Middle Ages to Latinize Norman Néel and Old Irish Níall, from which the former is derived via Old Norse Njáll.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Nigel (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Nigel is used in English and Cebuano. Its origins include Latin and English.

Nigel comes through Latin Nigellus, nrf Néel, Old Irish Níall and Old Norse Njáll.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Nigellus.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Nigel is pronounced /ˈnaɪd͡ʒəl/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 12,286 boys were recorded with the name Nigel between 1929 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 448 in 1994; its best national rank was #478 in 1994.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #1,865 in 2020 to #2,088 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,115 in 2015 to #2,088 in 2025.

In the United States, 85 girls were recorded with the name Nigel between 1915 and 1994. Its highest annual count was 11 in 1977; its best national rank was #4,669 in 1918.

How common is Nigel?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 46,700
71 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 24,100
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#2,088
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
32,366 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Nigel sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5001%

Put another way: gather 32,366 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Nigel. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Nigels were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Nigel was born before 1996 — so the typical Nigel is around 29 today.

Median birth year
1996
About 29 years old
Biggest decade
1990s
30.9% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
37.2%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
12,234
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1990s — 30.9% of all recorded uses (3,791).

Is Nigel rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+117
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
−223
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−973
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.41×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
15.8%
Peak was 1994 (448)
Years since peak
31
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
11.3% average annual change
Best rank ever
#478
1994

Spellings of Nigel

Nigel is not the most common spelling — Angel is, with 46.5% against Nigel's 2.1%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Nigel is used

Across 2016–2025, Nigel was most concentrated in Maryland — about 1 in 10,000 boys, against 1 in 22,272 across all states with data. It was least common in Tennessee (1 in 100,000).

110 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Maryland1 in 10,000
  2. 2South Carolina1 in 10,000
  3. 3Mississippi1 in 11,111
  4. 4Georgia1 in 12,500
  5. 5New York1 in 12,500
  6. 6Florida1 in 14,286
  7. 7Louisiana1 in 16,667
  8. 8Virginia1 in 16,667

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Nigel around the world

Where Nigel ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #3,684
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1974–1996
    #425
    in 1996
  • Northern Ireland
    1997–2000
    #277
    in 2000
  • Ireland
    1964–2025
    #676
    in 2025
  • France
    1953–2016
    #5,416
    in 2016
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #1,698
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1944–2010
    #494
    in 2010
  • New South Wales
    1966–1979
    #99
    in 1979

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada, Consumer and Business Services (South Australia) and NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages. ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA, NSW BDM data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Nigel

People whose public names include Nigel, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Nigel in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Nigel. Linked forms have their own page here.

NeelNielNiallNigellNihel

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Nigel by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,088
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 223
Best rank ever
#478
1994
Peak year
1994
448 that year
First recorded
1929
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
12,286
Count in 2025
71

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#4,669
1918
Peak year
1977
11 that year
First recorded
1915
Last recorded
1994
All-time count
85
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Nigel

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

MigelRigelAngelVirgelNygelNigilNiguelLuisangelNightJoseangelEngelJoangelMiguelangelJoeangelArgelEdgelArcangelRangelNigalNigerNigeeDangelNiegelSigel

Names with a curve like Nigel

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Nigel, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

DeshawnTyreeDavonRigobertoDeangeloGermanJaronKeenanNathanialEstevanCortezNestor

Sibling names for Nigel

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Nigel

Top names of 1994, Nigel's peak yearThe 1990s in fullOther names that peaked in 1994Boys' names starting with N