The Nickell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,855 people carried this name — #5,894 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 50,500 people counted. That is up 5% from 5,564 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Nickell surname

A surname originating as a patronymic.

One of the variant spellings of Nichol, a Middle English vernacular form of the given name Nicholas.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Nickell» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In print

Nickell in American newspapers,
1903–1921.

Newspaper page from The Butte Inter Mountain carrying the name Nickell
The Butte Inter Mountain 1903-01-01
Newspaper page from Fergus County Argus carrying the name Nickell
Fergus County Argus 1903-11-25
Newspaper page from Belt Valley Times carrying the name Nickell
Belt Valley Times 1921-10-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Nickell in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1950s.

357 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nickell. The most, 73, date from the 1900s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 3.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 287
New South Wales 32
South Australia 13
Western Australia 12
Queensland 9
Tasmania 4

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nickell.

Who carried it

People named Nickell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Paul Nickell
    Paul Nickell 1915–2000 · television director
  • Faith Elizabeth Nickell 1888–1900 · writer
  • Vernon L. Nickell 1891–1969
  • Louis G. Nickell 1921– · botanist
  • Joe Nickell 1944–2025 · writer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 8 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Nickell,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States321 records

321 records of the Nickell name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 213
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 67
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 16
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 14
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 6
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Robert P. Nickell

    Born 1914 in Texas. Enlisted 1944 at Los Angeles, California; aircraft worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1995, buried at Riverside National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Martha Nickell

    Arrived at New York in 1874 aboard the Ethiopia from Glasgow and Moville, aged 25; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Andrew J. Nickell

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1892, died 1948; buried at Dayton National Cemetery, Ohio.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 321 records for Nickell in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia25 records

25 records of the Nickell name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 12
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 10
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 2
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Howard Proctor Nickell

    Retired of Balwyn, Victoria; died 1992.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm J. Nickell

    Arrived in Queensland in 1886 aboard the Duke of Argyle.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Amiss Nickell

    Arrived in Victoria in 1864 aboard the Empress of the Seas, aged 28.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 25 records for Nickell in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Germany9 records

9 records of the Nickell name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Wilhelm Nickell

    From Blankenburg a. H. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 7 September 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 92).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Alfred Nickell

    From Olscharken, Ortelsburg. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 13 January 1915 (Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 18).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Hermann Nickell

    From Hess.-Lichtenau, Cassel. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 9 November 1915 (Infantry Regiment No. 83).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Nickell in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Nickell name in Canada Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Norma Nickell

    Buried in 1997 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Cathy Norma Nickell

    Died 1997; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Stephen Nickell

    Buried in 1997 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Nickell name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Anna Catharina Henriette Nickell

    Died 1832 in Venlo, aged 28.

    Open Archives, Gemeentearchief Venlo (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Nickell in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Nickell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Nickell is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Nickell volume
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