How popular is the baby name Nigel in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Nigel.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Nigel


Posts that Mention the Name Nigel

Where did the baby name Thayle come from in 1936?

thalye, name, 1936, short story
Thayle & Malvern

The name Thayle appeared in the U.S. baby name data for one year only, in the middle of the 1930s:

  • 1938: unlisted
  • 1937: unlisted
  • 1936: 6 baby girls named Thayle [debut]
  • 1935: unlisted
  • 1934: unlisted

Where did it come from?

The source is the long-forgotten short story “Company for the Milkman” by Florence Leighton Pfalzgraf. It was published in various newspapers in 1936.

The protagonist is 24-year-old working girl Thayle. She wants to settle down, but first has to choose between two suitors: Nigel “Nig” Duffield (who’s poor, but perfect for her) and Malvern “Mal” Kay (who’s wealthy, but a bad match).

“I don’t mean to offend you, Nig. But — but I’m tired of my tuppenny job. I hate the real estate office, that cold iron typewriter. I don’t want to work after I’m married.”

She nearly marries Mal, but of course there’s a twist (involving a milkman) and she ends up with Nig.

The only thought-provoking thing about this story? The nickname “Nig.” I suspect the author wanted it pronounced “Nige” (long I, soft G–as in Nigel). So why did she leave off the E so that it rhymes with “pig” (or Twig)? Weird omission.

Source: Pfalzgraf, Florence Leighton. “Company for the Milkman.” Reading Eagle 3 May 1936: 14.

Popular baby names in British Columbia (Canada), 2015

According to data released on December 30th by British Columbia’s Vital Statistics Agency, the most popular baby names in the province in 2015 were Emma and Oliver.

Here are British Columbia’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2015:

Girl Names
1. Emma, 258 baby girls
2. Olivia, 256
3. Emily, 183
4. Sophia, 173
5. Ava, 163
6. Chloe, 159
7. Charlotte, 155
8. Abigail, 150
9. Amelia, 140
10. Ella, 133

Boy Names
1. Oliver, 217 baby boys
2. Ethan, 206
3. Liam, 203
4. Benjamin, 201
5. Lucas, 193
6. Alexander, 183 (tie)
7. Jacob, 183 (tie)
8. Mason, 177
9. William, 173
10. Hunter, 169

On the girls’ list, Emma replaced Olivia as the #1 name and Ella replaced Lily in the top 10.

On the boys’ list, Oliver replaced Ethan as the #1 name; Alexander and Hunter replaced Noah and Logan in the top 10.

BC Vital Statistics also attempted to come up with rankings that combined variant spellings:

Girl Names (spellings combined)
1. Emma
2. Olivia
3. Sophia/Sofia
4. Emily/Emilee/Emilie
5. Amelia/Emelia/Emilia

Boy Names (spellings combined)
1. Jackson/Jaxon/Jaxson
2. Lucas/Lukas
3. Oliver
4. Ethan
5. Liam

But combining spellings isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. For instance, if “Amelia” is combined with “Emilia” (which is actually in the Emily family) then why wasn’t “Alivia” combined with “Olivia”? That would boost Olivia/Alivia into the #1 spot. And should “Eva” go with “Ava,” since they’re occasionally pronounced the same way…?

Here are some names from the other end of the rankings, each used just five times in 2015:

  • Girl Names: Anahat, Avreet, Bronwyn, Calla, Clementine, Deanna, Gaia, Harseerat, Jayla, Karis, Lynn, Mae, Mehar, Mirabelle, Ocean, Sailor, Senna, Sahej
  • Boy Names: Andrei, Apollo, Boaz, Brighton, Cory, Dorian, Elio, Fergus, Haroon, Indy, Jimmy, Jodh, Luciano, Nigel, Pasha, Stellan, Trent, Viraj

The news release also mentioned that the top names of 2016 would likely be Olivia and Lucas (according to data covering the year up to December 12). Here are the 2014 rankings.

Sources: British Columbia’s top baby names for 2015, Baby’s Most Chosen Names in British Columbia, 2015

Baby born in elevator, named Ella

elevator doors

Here’s something I haven’t seen before: a baby named after an elevator.

In early July, Melissa Cavanagh of England gave birth to a baby girl in a broken-down elevator, where she had been stuck for 45 minutes along with per partner, Paul Yeomans, and three paramedics.

Emergency care assistant Nigel Goodman, who was part of the ambulance crew trapped in the lift, said: “When it was all over, I remember saying to Melissa and Paul that they should call her Ella, short for elevator – and they have!”

Ella’s middle name, Nicola, is in honor of one of the other paramedics, Nikki Wildman.

Source: Baby name inspired by lift birth

List of interesting names

The profiles of famous people at Biography.com are sorted into groups like “Barnard College Alumni,” “Epileptics,” “Olympic Opening Ceremony Performers,” “Sagittarians,” and “U.S. Vice Presidents.”

So I was very curious when I noticed a group simply called “Names We Like.”

Here are the 23 people on that list:

  • Bella Abzug (b. 1920) activist, lawyer
  • Tycho Brahe (b. 1546) astronomer
  • Archibald Butt (b. 1865) military leader
  • Hoagy Carmichael (b. 1899) songwriter
  • Hawley Crippen (b. 1862) murderer, doctor
  • Mullah Dadullah (b. 1966) military leader
  • Nigel Dempster (b. 1941) journalist
  • Eadweard Muybridge (b. 1830) photographer, filmmaker
  • Jubal A. Early (b. 1816) general, journalist
  • Henry Ossian Flipper (b. 1856) military leader
  • Googoosh (b. 1950) film actress, singer
  • Merle Haggard (b. 1937) singer, songwriter
  • Simmie Knox (b. 1935) painter
  • Bonar Law (b. 1858) prime minister
  • El Lissitzky (b. 1890) artist
  • Mungo Park (b. 1771) explorer
  • Pepin III (b. 714) general, king
  • Pinckney Pinchback (b. 1837) activist, governor
  • Ottorino Respighi (b. 1879) songwriter
  • Ving Rhames (b. 1959) film actor
  • Ségolène Royal (b. 1953) politician
  • Picabo Street (b. 1971) athlete
  • Megawati Sukarnoputri (b. 1947) world leader

Which of the above do you like best?

Source: Names We Like