Nickell
A surname that likely began as a variant of Nicholas, meaning “victory of the people.”
The #5,894 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 52,732 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Nickell is generally understood as a surname form related to the given name Nicholas, ultimately from Greek Nikolaos, meaning “victory of the people” (nike, “victory,” plus laos, “people”). The surname may have developed as a pet-form or regional spelling of Nickell/Nicol/Nickle-type names rather than from a separate word. In some cases, spellings like this were also influenced by local pronunciation and the way clerks wrote names down.
History
The name is found chiefly in the British Isles and in areas of later English-speaking settlement, especially North America. As with many surnames built from personal names, it could arise independently in more than one place. The spelling Nickell is one of several close variants that reflect older, flexible surname spelling practices.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because surname spellings were historically unstable, families with Nickell, Nickle, and Nickel may share a distant naming origin even when the modern spellings differ.