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Gender Masculine
Other Forms FormsDutch medieval variant forms and spellings: Nijckel, Nikkel and Nykkel. German medieval variant forms and spellings: Neickel, Neyckel, Neykel and Nieckel.
Meaning & History
In Germany and the Netherlands, this name is a medieval short form of respectively Nicolaus and Nicolaas. In the case of the latter, it is via the medieval short form Nicol 1, of which Nickel is a variant.In English-speaking countries, there are a few more possibilities for the origin and etymology of this name. There, it can be: a short form of Nicholas, a pet form of Nicholas' short form Nick and an anglicisation of the Scottish name Nichol. Very rarily will this name have been inspired by the coin or the metal, in which case nickel is ultimately derived from German nickel meaning "goblin, devil."The name Nickel is still in use in the English-speaking world, Germany and the Netherlands to this day, albeit (very) rarely.