Last year (2023) 18 baby girls were given the name Nell in Poland. As of January this year, there are 590 women in Poland with Nell as their first name. 96 others have it as their middle.
― Anonymous User 11/15/2024
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Nell Greenfieldboyce is an NPR science correspondent.
I love Nell. Just Nell, not Eleanor or Ellen or Helena, though they are lovely names - they just don’t do it for me in the way simple, sweet Nell does. Why call her something long when I’d only ever use Nell? It might seem like a nickname to some, but to me it’s wholesome and simple, like a little flower. It makes me think of a kind girl with a sweet smile. I would love to use this for a daughter.
Nell Dunn is an English playwright, screenwriter and author. She is known especially for a volume of short stories, Up the Junction, and a novel, Poor Cow.
I named my little girl Nell. She is now 2. It’s the only name my partner and I agreed on and it absolutely suits her personality. We call her Nellie as a nickname. She has no middle name either. Just Nell. Simple and timeless.
― Anonymous User 6/26/2021
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Nell ni Chruinin is an Irish singer, currently a vocalist in the Celtic folk band Danu.
― Anonymous User 6/25/2021
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I think I slightly prefer Nellie or Nella, but Nell is absolutely gorgeous too. If I were to use it myself, it would probably be as a nickname for something longer like Cornelia or Helena, or something more unexpected like Noelle, but it's still really lovely on its own. It's still very feminine but not as cute as Nellie, which could be an upside because it sounds more energetic.
Nell Mescal is an Irish singer, sister of actor Paul Mescal.
― Anonymous User 2/5/2021
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While the standard form of this name in Polish would be Nela or Nella, Nell has also had some usage in Poland. That's probably because in the book In Desert And Wilderness by Henryk Sienkiewicz, the protagonist's name is Nel Rawlison (she is English, I don't really understand why it's spelt Nel rather than Nell but that's just how it is), and this is one of the few acceptable Polish feminine names not ending in -a which we were allowed to use when we had stricter naming rules. Also, names like Nel, Nela, Nella, Nelia, have been quite trendy lately, maybe now not so much but some ten years ago I'd say it was definitely a trend. Also Kornelia is a more formal name which has been gaining a lot of popularity lately, as well as vintage Aniela (which is also often nicknamed to Nela). That all may be the reasons why Nell is also getting some use. Last year (2020) 14 girls were given the name Nell as a first name. For a comparison, 191 girls were given the name Nel, and 1731 were named Nela. In the whole population, in January of this year, there were 480 Nells in Poland with this name as a first name, and 88 women had it as a middle name. A Nell in Polish could of course be nicknamed to Nelly or Nellie, or Nelli/Neli, but also Nela, Nelka, Nelusia/Lusia, Nelunia/Lunia, etc. Etc. She could celebrate her name day together with Aniela (January 4 and 27, March 28, May 30 and 31, November 18), Kornelia (March 31, September 16), Petronela (May 31), Helena (March 2, May 22, July 31, August 18), Lena (November 10) etc.
― Anonymous User 2/5/2021
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I thought this was masculine at first for some reason. It's nice as a nickname, but for a first name, I prefer Nelle.
My name is Nell, just Nell, and I don't see how to some people it can only be a nickname or a middle name and no one cares if it means into in Italian as I am not Italian.
I dislike Nell. This happens because in Italy 'nel/Nell" are articles meaning 'in, into'.Also, Nell seems just too nicknamey to be used as a first name.
In 2018, 78 is the most common age for an American (U.S.) Nell* who is registered female with the Social Security Administration. It is the 1, 977th most common female first name for living U.S. citizens. *as a first name, not a nickname.
― Anonymous User 10/11/2018
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Hi, I am from China and my English name is Nell. It came to my mind when I was 17 years old. I know nothing about the meaning of English names. I just needed a name and hopefully it does not carry bad meanings. Nell is simple to pronounce, simple to write. That's all. Even people from different countries, they can learn and remember the name so soon. I like my name and many people tell me that it is so simple and not special enough. I should find a more beautiful name. Well, I like it. When the name came to me, I thought "That's the name I will use."
My name's Annabel but I go by Nel instead. Nel spelt with one L that is. My mum doesn't really like the name but I think it sounds cheerful but sort of 'edgey' at the same time.
'El' in the Bible is the name of God. "Mine El" could have been short for "mine Eleanor," but it could also have referred to God. This would have been a highly respectful phrase (not meant sacrilegiously), either lovingly addressing God, or used as an endearment (similar to the Spanish phrase "my life"). Perhaps both.
Nell is a very cute, friendly name! I personally prefer Nell to be used as a middle name or nickname and Nelly used as a legit forename. :)
― Anonymous User 2/7/2015
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I like the name Nelle/Nell, but prefer it spelt Nelle. Nell seems like it's missing something. And I love Nellie for a nickname, but not Nelly. That seems tacky.
This name is so pretty and spunky and still old fashioned. Sadly, it's a bit too nickname-y and incomplete sounding to be a substantial name for a child (same with Nelle, Nella, Nellie, etc.) But I'd name a daughter Ellen or Penelope just to call her by the prettier and spunkier Nell/y!
I personally love this name, my name is Helen and I've always wanted to be called Nell but it never caught on. :( Still love the name, it suits all age groups- though I agree that Nelly is not as nice.
"Nell" reminds me of the beautiful name "Nelia", which is used in Bulgaria, here "Nelia" is connected with "Neli" (written "Nellie" in English) and the Bulgarian name "Anelia".
I like this name, so long as people don't call the person "Nelly." That makes me think of horses or cows, even in reference to Nelly Furtado, which is unfortunate for her.Nell is a very grown-up name, in my opinion, while not implying that the person is old, either.
Little Nell was a character in Charles Dickens' novel The Old Curiosity Shop. She dies tragically and melodramatically in the story. The moniker "Little Nell" has also been adopted by Laura Campbell, who played Columbia in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.