Girls' name · since 1880
Nell
Nell has 27,612 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1917 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #881 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,622 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 27,612
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Nell currently ranks #1622 among girls' names in America, with 27,612 babies recorded since 1880.
Nell has 27,612 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1622 as of the latest data, more common than 91% of girls, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #881 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,622 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 27,612 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Nell ranks #881 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,622 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 27,612 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #881 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,622 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 27,612
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Nell's 27,612 recorded births place it above 98.78% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
36 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Nell compares
27,612 Top 6% higher than 94% 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
Nell's all-time total is 73x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Nell | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 27,612 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 766 | 21 | 19,840 |
Nell's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Nell's full recorded timeline at 1953, 13% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 87% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1995, with just 18 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1917 peak of 766 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Nell popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1917)
- 766
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Nell popularity over time - boys
98 total births recorded since 1900 (Nell as boys' name)
Nell by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (6,034 births, 22% of the file).
1920s was Nell's strongest decade.
6,034 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 22% of all-time use.
Nell births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 1,345
1880s
1,345 births
- 1890s 2,138
1890s
2,138 births
- 1900s
1900s
2,436 births
- 1910s
1910s
5,613 births
- 1920s
1920s
6,034 births
- 1930s
1930s
3,984 births
- 1940s 2,074
1940s
2,074 births
- 1950s 1,122
1950s
1,122 births
- 1960s 462
1960s
462 births
- 1970s 340
1970s
340 births
- 1980s 271
1980s
271 births
- 1990s 259
1990s
259 births
- 2000s 259
2000s
259 births
- 2010s 579
2010s
579 births
- 2020s 696
2020s
696 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 6,034 births (22% of all-time use).
How Nell 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 Nell's total volume
Nell by state
Where Nell concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 2,164 | 7.8% |
| #2 | Alabama | | 1,945 | 7.0% |
| #3 | North Carolina | | 1,812 | 6.6% |
| #4 | Tennessee | | 1,686 | 6.1% |
| #5 | Georgia | | 1,682 | 6.1% |
| #6 | Kentucky | | 1,136 | 4.1% |
| #7 | Mississippi | | 1,061 | 3.8% |
| #8 | South Carolina | | 957 | 3.5% |
2,164 of 27,612 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 36 reporting states.
Nell appears in 36 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Nell? ▼
Where does Nell sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Nell most popular? ▼
Where is Nell most popular? ▼
How long has the name Nell been used? ▼
What names are similar to Nell? ▼
What to do with Nell's data
- Nell's decade-level peak was the 1920s (6,034 total births); usage has since declined to 696 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Nells (2,164 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 Nell
Nearby Names Like Nell
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Nell
Compare Nell side by side: Nell vs Nellie Nell vs Nelda Nell vs Nelly
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Nell
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Nell: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1917)
Similar record span (~145 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, 1880–2025 (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 Nell 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.