Given name & surname
Nigella
“the champion”·“a champion”
Nigella is a feminine form of Nigel. In English use, Nigel carries the interpretation “the champion.” Nigella is a variant of Nigelia. In Arabic use, Nigelia carries the interpretation “a champion.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Nigella is a feminine form of Nigel. In English use, Nigel carries the interpretation “the champion.” Nigella is a variant of Nigelia. In Arabic use, Nigelia carries the interpretation “a champion.”
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2003. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Nigella through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 42
- 0 boys · 42 girls
- Most popular year
- 2007
- 9 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 7 in 2015. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 9 in 2007.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Nigella’s family of names
Nigella is a feminine form of Nigel. Nigella has a related form in Nigelia. In English usage, Nigella has a related form in Nigelia.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Nigella
- Nigella LawsonEnglish food writer and television cook (born 1960)
- Nigella SaundersJamaican badminton playerborn 1979
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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