Nigella is of Latin origin and means "little black one." It was originally used as a term to describe a small, dark flower called the pansy, but it has since been adopted as a female given name. The name Nigella began to appear in popularity charts in the latter half of the 20th century and reached its peak popularity in the early 1970s. Today, it is still used occasionally but remains relatively rare compared to other names.
The name Nigella has seen fluctuations in popularity over time, with peaks in recent years.