Nell

Nell is an English diminutive that arose in the Middle Ages through the process of adding the prefix "mine" to short forms of names beginning with El-, so that "mine El" became "mine Nell" and eventually simply Nell. It originated as a pet form of Ellen, Eleanor, or Helen, all of which trace back ultimately to the Greek name Helene, possibly connected to a root meaning torch or light. One of its most famous bearers is Nell Gwyn, the celebrated seventeenth-century English actress and mistress of King Charles II, whose popularity helped establish the name independently. Related forms include Nellie and Nelly, and the masculine equivalent Nel occasionally appears in some European traditions.