What Does Nigel Mean?

The name Nigel directly means 'black'. The name derives from the Latin word niger which is the word used to represent the color black.

• Different Meanings

As mentioned above, the name Nigel has derived from the Latin word niger, however it is predominantly an English name and is considered to also come from the Old Norman surname Neel, which in turn came from the Norse Njall. The Norse Njiall actually came from the Gaelic name Niall. As you can see, despite the Latin origins, the name Nigel also has its roots in Gaelic history.

In Australia the name Nigel is sometimes used as a term rather than a name. The term is used to describe someone as being a bit of an oddity or a person who does not have many friends. The reason for this is because, despite the popularity of the name in England, it was not a name adopted much by the Australian people. This was particularly the case in the 1980s when it was not a very popular name at all. Due to this, Australians adopted it as a colloquial way to describe a person who was not very popular or tended to isolate themselves.

• Popularity

The name Nigel was initially very popular in the 1950s, 1960s and the 1970s in England and Wales, however it was never hugely popular in other countries. With regards to the United States of America, it has never been a very common name, however in the early 1970s it was the most common name in America with the record being a number of 94 births registering that name. It was also quite popular in 1994 but it has since dwindled down the popularity ranks for boys' names in the US.