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Nell is cute, though I prefer Nellie. My paternal grandmother is Nellie Grace and I always thought her name was quite lovely.

I'm quite fond of Nell, but it's not really my style to use on its own and it's not very intuitive as a nickname for its traditional sources- or at least you'd have to be very intentional about it. And I do like a lot of Eleanor-adjacent names. I'm not so sure it works for, say, Lenore though.

This message was edited 8/19/2022, 5:20 PM

Nell is okay. I don’t think anybody should be crazy about the name Nell. It’s cute, and definitely nickname-y, but overall I’d say its nice. I like the sound of Penelope or Cornelia with the nickname Nell. Even Nélida now that I think about it. I love Nelly and Nellie more though. Such a pretty name.

I have two distant (19th century) aunts named Nellie. I much prefer Nell as a full name, and I'd be unlikely to use Nell as a nn for Eleanor or Penelope, both of which I like enough to use. I'd use Eleanor in full, and Penelope would probably be Penny - that's also a family name.

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I have met a Cornelia who went by Nel, pronounced like Nell.

I like the idea of Penelope "Nell". It could also work as a nickname for Cornelia.

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Nell is nice. The feminine equivalent of Ned, vibe wise - simple and instantly recognisable, but vaguely archaic and fairy-tale like. But unlike Ned, it's also creamy and pleasant and glossy.

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Unlike Ned, I think Nell works well enough as a full name. It's certainly more exciting than Eleanor. Nellie is nice too, though I wouldn't but it on a birth certificate.