Meaning and history
From Nigellus, a medieval Latinized form of Neil, the name Nigel was commonly associated with Latin niger, meaning “black.” It was revived in the 19th century, perhaps partly because of Walter Scott’s novel The Fortunes of Nigel (1822).
20062006: 309 births, rank #707
2007: 303 births, rank #742
2008: 271 births, rank #809
2009: 249 births, rank #856
2010: 216 births, rank #933
20112011: 194 births, rank #998
2012: 178 births, rank #1,065
2013: 170 births, rank #1,090
2014: 155 births, rank #1,188
2015: 173 births, rank #1,111
20162016: 146 births, rank #1,254
2017: 150 births, rank #1,219
2018: 125 births, rank #1,401
2019: 108 births, rank #1,548
2020: 80 births, rank #1,849
20212021: 94 births, rank #1,721
2022: 71 births, rank #2,094
2023: 73 births, rank #2,047
2024: 66 births, rank #2,190
20252025: 71 births, rank #2,077
Nigel moved from #859 to #935 for boys between 2009 and 2010. Its highest annual birth count came in 1994, with 448 births.