Niegel
A diminutive of the name Neil, of Scottish origin meaning "champion".
Name Census estimates that about 28 living Americans carry the first name Niegel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Niegel today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Niegel births was 1994 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Niegel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Niegel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
28
~ 1 in 12,241,226 Americans
Peak year
1994
7 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2002 SSA rank
#10,284
Tracked since 1987
Popularity
Niegel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Niegel from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Niegel remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Niegel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Niegel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Niegel
The given name Niegel is a unique and intriguing one, with a rich history that spans across different cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Germanic languages, where it is believed to have derived from the root word "nigli," meaning "to strive" or "to persevere."
In the early medieval period, the name Niegel was prevalent among the Germanic tribes of central and western Europe, particularly in the regions that are now known as Germany, the Netherlands, and parts of France. It was a name that carried connotations of strength, determination, and resilience, qualities that were highly valued in the warrior cultures of that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Niegel can be found in the Nibelungenlied, an epic poem from the 13th century that recounts the legendary exploits of the Burgundian prince Siegfried and his battles against the Huns. In this epic, the name Niegel is mentioned as a character, though the significance of this character remains obscure.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Niegel continued to be used, albeit sporadically, among the nobility and ruling classes of various Germanic kingdoms. One notable figure bearing this name was Niegel of Salzburg, a 10th-century Benedictine monk and scholar who contributed significantly to the preservation and dissemination of classical literature during the Carolingian Renaissance.
In the 16th century, the name gained some prominence with the rise of the Protestant Reformation. Niegel Hemmingsen, a Danish theologian and reformer born in 1513, played a crucial role in establishing Lutheranism as the state religion in Denmark. His writings and teachings had a lasting impact on the religious and cultural landscape of Scandinavia.
Jumping ahead to the 19th century, we encounter another notable individual named Niegel – Niegel Wingrove, an English novelist and playwright born in 1811. Wingrove's works, though not widely celebrated today, were popular during his time and reflected the literary trends of the Victorian era.
As we move into the 20th century, the name Niegel appears to have fallen out of widespread use, though it has been carried on by a few individuals. One such person is Niegel Parkin, a British artist and sculptor born in 1946, whose works have been exhibited in galleries across Europe and the United States.
While the name Niegel may not be as common as some other names of Germanic origin, its unique history and rich connotations make it a fascinating subject of study for those interested in onomastics and the evolution of names through the ages.
People
Niegel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Niegel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Niegel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Niegel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 28 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Niegel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 12,241,226 US residents.
Is Niegel a common name?
We classify Niegel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 45.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 29 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Niegel most popular?
The single biggest year for Niegel was 1994, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Niegel is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Niegel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Niegel in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.