Nel
More girls were given it last year than in any year before, part of a clear comeback, though it stays rare enough that most Poles have never met one. At root it's a short form of Kornelia or Petronela.
Nel Pronunciation
Nel is pronounced NEL (/nɛl/).
What Nel means
Where Nel comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Nel is a short name that holds two longer ones. On a Polish list it reads as the familiar form of Kornelia and Petronela, the everyday version people use instead of the full baptismal name. Its recorded origin is Hebrew, older than either of those forms.
The name bends easily. Add a vowel and Nela appears; change one letter and you have Neli. These sit close together, the same short name with a slightly different ending. Nel already sounds finished, which is part of why it travels well on its own.
Picture a class register in September, where a Kornelia and a Petronela are both written out in full. By the second week the teacher is calling each of them Nel, and the long forms wait on the official card at the urząd. What stays in daily use is the short one: Nel, with Nela close behind.
How many people are named Nel
1 in 5821 women in Poland is named Nel. 3,878 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #538 among female names.
Nel's popularity over time
496 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #106 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2002.
Where parents choose Nel
Nel is most popular in Greater Poland, 53% above the national average (353 girls born 2019–2025), followed by West Pomeranian (+25%) and Kuyavian-Pomeranian (+16%). It is least common in Podlaskie and Subcarpathian, 52% and 27% below average respectively.
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Greater Poland
+53%1 in 610 babies
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West Pomeranian
+25%1 in 747 babies
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian
+16%1 in 804 babies
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Podlaskie
−52%1 in 1,935 babies
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Subcarpathian
−27%1 in 1,283 babies
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Opole
−21%1 in 1,182 babies
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Greater Poland+53% 353 born1 in 610 babies+53%
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West Pomeranian+25% 113 born1 in 747 babies+25%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian+16% 136 born1 in 804 babies+16%
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Lower Silesian+12% 188 born1 in 836 babies+12%
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Holy Cross+10% 65 born1 in 853 babies+10%
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Pomeranian+5% 165 born1 in 893 babies+5%
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Lubusz+4% 55 born1 in 903 babies+4%
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Warmian-Masurian+2% 78 born1 in 920 babies+2%
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Lesser Poland−4% 234 born1 in 970 babies−4%
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Łódź−11% 121 born1 in 1,047 babies−11%
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Silesian−12% 214 born1 in 1,063 babies−12%
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Lublin−13% 96 born1 in 1,070 babies−13%
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Masovian−14% 327 born1 in 1,083 babies−14%
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Opole−21% 39 born1 in 1,182 babies−21%
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Subcarpathian−27% 94 born1 in 1,283 babies−27%
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Podlaskie−52% 34 born1 in 1,935 babies−52%
Nel as a middle name
Nel is a first name for 3,878 women in Poland and a middle name for another 478, an 89/11 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 318th, between Alejandra (480) and Linda (474).