Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Nigel?
Births per year, rank history and how many Nigels are alive today.
Nigel (male), once a common boys' name, is now rarely given to new babies in England and Wales: just 5 in 2024, ranked 3689th. The name peaked in 1964, when around 6,000 babies were given the name, the 23rd most popular that year. It has declined since 1964; the 2024 figure is roughly 1% of its peak. At least 11,000 babies have been named Nigel in England and Wales since 1944. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Nigel you are most likely to meet is around 62 years old. Half of all Nigels born in England and Wales are between 56 and 68, and there are at least 100,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 28% chance that at least one of them will be called Nigel.
How many babies are named Nigel each year?
Where does Nigel rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Nigel most popular?
Nigel peaked in 1964, when around 6,000 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Nigel?
At least 100,000 people named Nigel born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Nigel?
Most living Nigels are between 56 and 68; the most common age is about 62.
Is Nigel becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1964 peak.