Nichelle as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Nichelle

What is the meaning of the name Nichelle ?

The baby name Nichelle is a girl name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced nih-SHEL.

Nichelle is African American, French, Greek in Origin.

Nichelle is a 20th-century American English feminine coinage, best analyzed as a blend of Nicole and Michelle, with an added -elle ending that echoes French feminine diminutives. Its earliest secure public form is the name adopted in childhood by Grace Dell Nichols, later Nichelle Nichols. Her family explained it as Greek Nīkē, victory, plus French elle, she or feminine -elle, glossed as victorious maiden; the Nicole element also points to Greek Nikolaos, victory of the people.

Usage centers on mid-20th-century Black American culture. BehindTheName.com classifies Nichelle under African American usage, and NASA.gov identifies Nichols as a leading Black actress whose 1966 Star Trek role and 1977 NASA recruiting work made the name visible beyond her Chicago circle. It briefly entered the U.S. Top 1000 in the late 1960s and early 1970s, then receded. Spellings such as Nichele and Nischelle remain occasional.