Girls' name · since 1884
Nelda
Nelda has 20,139 recorded births since 1884 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1938 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #1,061 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #9,470 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 20,139
- born since 1884
- 1930s
- peak decade
Yes -- Nelda is the #9470 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 20,139 recorded since 1884.
Nelda has 20,139 recorded births among girls since 1884, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #9470 as of the latest data, more common than 45% of girls, busiest in the 1930s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1884 to 2025.
- #1,061 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #9,470 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 20,139 born since 1884
- 1930s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Nelda ranks #1,061 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #9,470 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 20,139 born since 1884, peaking in the 1930s.
- #1,061 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #9,470 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 20,139
- born since 1884
- 1930s
- peak decade
Nelda's 20,139 recorded births place it above 98.53% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
36 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Nelda compares
20,139 Top 7% higher than 93% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Nelda's all-time total is 54x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Nelda | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 20,139 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 567 | 21 | 19,840 |
Nelda's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Nelda splits its recorded history at 1952: 24% of all births land in the more recent half, 76% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1884 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1938 peak of 567 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Nelda popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1884–2025
- Peak year (1938)
- 567
- Annual births at peak, across 142 years of records
Nelda popularity over time - boys
5 total births recorded since 1935 (Nelda as boys' name)
Nelda by decade
1930s is the heaviest window (4,931 births, 24% of the file).
1930s was Nelda's strongest decade.
4,931 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 24% of all-time use.
Nelda births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 28
1880s
28 births
- 1890s 74
1890s
74 births
- 1900s 235
1900s
235 births
- 1910s 1,130
1910s
1,130 births
- 1920s
1920s
3,170 births
- 1930s
1930s
4,931 births
- 1940s
1940s
4,870 births
- 1950s
1950s
3,211 births
- 1960s 1,488
1960s
1,488 births
- 1970s 536
1970s
536 births
- 1980s 254
1980s
254 births
- 1990s 99
1990s
99 births
- 2000s 57
2000s
57 births
- 2010s 28
2010s
28 births
- 2020s 28
2020s
28 births
What this shows Peak: 1930s at 4,931 births (24% of all-time use).
How Nelda compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Nelda's total volume
Nelda by state
Where Nelda concentrates geographically, total births since 1884
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 6,491 | 32.2% |
| #2 | Louisiana | | 956 | 4.7% |
| #3 | Alabama | | 916 | 4.5% |
| #4 | Oklahoma | | 897 | 4.5% |
| #5 | Mississippi | | 762 | 3.8% |
| #6 | Tennessee | | 612 | 3.0% |
| #7 | Missouri | | 565 | 2.8% |
| #8 | Illinois | | 541 | 2.7% |
6,491 of 20,139 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 36 reporting states.
Nelda appears in 36 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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Where does Nelda sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Nelda most popular? ▼
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What to do with Nelda's data
- Nelda's decade-level peak was the 1930s (4,931 total births); usage has since declined to 28 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Neldas (6,491 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Nelda
Nearby Names Like Nelda
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Nelda
Compare Nelda side by side: Nelda vs Nellie Nelda vs Nell Nelda vs Nelly
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Nelda
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Nelda: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1938)
Similar record span (~141 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1884–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Nelda draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.