Nijel
A modern invented name derived from the combination of Nigel and Neil.
Name Census estimates that about 333 living Americans carry the first name Nijel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nijel today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nijel births was 2000 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nijel. 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.
People living today
333
~ 1 in 1,029,292 Americans
Peak year
2000
20 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2022 SSA rank
#11,876
Tracked since 1987
Popularity
Nijel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nijel from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 138 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nijel 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 Nijel 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 Nijel
The name Nijel is believed to have originated from the Arabic language, with its roots tracing back to the medieval period in the Middle East. It is thought to be a variation of the name Najil, which means "noble" or "distinguished" in Arabic.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nijel can be found in historical texts from the 13th century, where it was mentioned as the name of a prominent scholar and philosopher from the region of modern-day Iraq. This particular individual, Nijel ibn Abdallah al-Basri, was renowned for his contributions to the fields of mathematics and astronomy.
During the 15th century, the name Nijel gained further prominence in the Ottoman Empire, where it was associated with several notable figures. One such figure was Nijel Pasha, a high-ranking military commander who played a crucial role in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire's territories in the Balkans.
As the centuries passed, the name Nijel continued to be used across various regions influenced by Arabic and Islamic culture. In the 18th century, there was a famous Sufi mystic from present-day Iran named Nijel al-Din Rumi, who was known for his poetry and spiritual teachings.
Interestingly, the name Nijel also found its way into European literature, particularly in the works of British author Sir Walter Scott. In his novel "The Talisman," published in 1825, one of the characters is named Nijel, a Syrian emir who plays a pivotal role in the story's plot.
Throughout history, several other notable individuals have borne the name Nijel. These include Nijel al-Hamawi, a 14th-century Arab geographer and traveler, and Nijel al-Qaysi, a 9th-century Arabic poet and literary figure. Additionally, there was a prominent Muslim scholar and jurist from the 11th century named Nijel al-Shushtari, who made significant contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence.
People
Nijel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nijel 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
Nijel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nijel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 333 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nijel 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 1,029,292 US residents.
Is Nijel a common name?
We classify Nijel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 338 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nijel most popular?
The single biggest year for Nijel was 2000, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nijel is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nijel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nijel 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.