Celebrity Nigels

I have never really liked my name. I accept it in a Zen kind of way but it definitely isn't cool. I don't know how my parents chose it; to my knowledge there is no previous Nigel in the family. Then I thought that maybe, in 1944, there were famous Nigels around and I was named after, say, an atomic scientist who had just invented the atom bomb, or a heroic general in the Allied armies.

So I researched.

The National Army Museum website tells me:

"During the Second World War, Nigel Clogstoun-Willmott founded the Combined Operations Pilotage Parties (COPP) to undertake covert beach reconnaissance. This proved vital for the success of Allied seaborne invasions."

Various obituaries in 2001 told me:

"Nigel Clive was one of the heroic small band who were parachuted into the Greek mountains to assist the Greek resistance against the Axis occupiers in 1943-44...he received the Military Cross in 1944"

I don't think my parents would have named me after these heroes, so I thought maybe Nigel was the most popular boys' name in 1944. I checked a list on BabyNames.it and Nigel came...not at all in the top 1000. Seriously, Mum and Dad? Behind Willie, Alvin, Marion (!) and even Grant - although I don't imagine Grant Grant would have helped in life. Oh wait a minute, these are American names. Ah, obviously Nigel is supremely British, maybe even English, so let's see if I can find an English list of boys' names in 1944.

Ah, he we are, I am number 69, far ahead of common names such as Reginald, Jack, Daniel (ha!) and Mohammed - what? there were Mohammeds in England in 1944? Wow. The no. 1? Do your own research!

So I have no idea what was going through my parents' minds. Maybe they just new a nice chap who they admired, and thought "let's have one of those".

So far, no celebrities. At least what we in 2020 are made to believe are celebrities. My two WW2 heroes definitely should be but I imagine they were pretty much unknown to the public at the time.

So, a few modern Nigels.

One who I wouldn't mind having been - Nigel Kennedy, supremely talented but definitely weird/quirky.

One who I'm glad I'm not - Nigel de Jong, Dutch footballer hard man who should have been sent off by Howard Webb (as he himself later admitted) in the 2010 World Cup Final for a wild king fu style kick.

And I'm not going to mention Nigel F...

When I was at school, my O Level Spanish teacher, in the first lesson, asked us each in turn what our first name was. He then told each student what the Spanish equivalent was and that name would be used in class. Plenty of easy and obvious ones - Leonardo, Antonio, Miguel, Alejandro...I was the only one for whom there was no Spanish equivalent! The embarrassment; maybe that was the moment I started to dislike my name.

What did he decide to call me?

Rafael.

Now there's a classy name. I'd have liked that and, at some time later in life, maybe changed my name by deed poll.