Search names
Nigella
OriginFeminine variation of Nigel; botanical name from Latin
Meaning"black"
About Nigella
A name that sounded unthinkably priggish until it became attached to Domestic Goddess British TV chef Nigella Lawson (named for her father), who gave it a big dollop of glamour.
Pronounced nigh-JEL-uh.
As of October 2026, Nigella ranked #14083 in US births in 2015 SSA, peaked at #12084 in 2003.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Nigella.
- Abelone
- Zofie
- Sassa
- Silvester
- Melba
- Vilhelmina
- Valentijne
- Uta
- Bruna
- Quintia
- Bernarda
- Felina
- Pascalle
- Bethel
- Umberto
- Donia
- Sima
- Shulamit
- Luba
- Rashida
Nigella on lists
Famous Nigellas
- Nigella Lucy Lawson
British TV chef
- Nigella Jekyll Saunders
Jamaican badminton player
Nigella in pop culture
- Nigella
genus of flowering plants including black caraway and devil,in,a,bush or love,in,a,mist
Nigella in blog posts
Save Nigella
Save to list