Nell

Nell is an old English pet form of Eleanor, Ellen and Helen. It was familiar enough in Shakespeare’s time to appear in his Henry VI, Part 2, and it has long been used as a name in its own right. The longer names behind it have different roots. Helen and Ellen go back to Greek, while Eleanor arrived from the south of France in the Middle Ages, and its meaning is uncertain.

The best-known bearer is probably Nell Gwyn, the actress who became a favourite of King Charles II in 17th-century London.

Nell was rare in Ireland for most of the CSO records, and some years had no entry at all. It has climbed quickly in the last decade. In 2015 it was number 379. Its best year so far was 2024, with 42 girls, when it reached number 114. It is still much less common in Northern Ireland.