Nell
Nell was given to 128 girls in 2025, #1,628 among girls’ names; 27,710 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 5,690 Americans named Nell and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (21% of everyone recorded); the median is 68 years old and half are between 23 and 82.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nell by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Nell mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Nell is “a diminutive of the female given names Eleanor, Ellen, and Helen”
/nɛl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Nell?
#1,628 among girls’ names, 2025
Nell rose from #2,879 in 2015 to #1,628 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 34.2 to 79.6 per million.
766 babies in 1917, the peak
Nell peaked in 1917, when 766 girls were given it, #221 among girls’ names. The 128 births of 2025 are 17% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 128 | #1,628 | 0.08 |
| 2024 | 150 | #1,463 | 0.09 |
| 2023 | 124 | #1,679 | 0.08 |
| 2022 | 119 | #1,749 | 0.07 |
| 2021 | 96 | #2,020 | 0.06 |
| 2020 | 79 | #2,273 | 0.05 |
| 2019 | 115 | #1,784 | 0.07 |
| 2018 | 72 | #2,471 | 0.04 |
| 2017 | 87 | #2,196 | 0.05 |
| 2016 | 70 | #2,556 | 0.04 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 61 | #2,879 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 42 | #3,699 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 44 | #3,555 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 32 | #4,572 | 0.02 |
| 2011 | 32 | #4,537 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 24 | #5,739 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 30 | #4,903 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 20 | #6,740 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 24 | #5,846 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 30 | #4,763 | 0.02 |
| 2005 | 27 | #4,921 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 19 | #6,426 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 23 | #5,355 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 23 | #5,219 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 35 | #3,758 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 28 | #4,366 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 31 | #3,858 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 32 | #3,710 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 32 | #3,596 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 36 | #3,277 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 18 | #5,373 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 19 | #5,169 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 19 | #5,129 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 20 | #4,980 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 21 | #4,753 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 31 | #3,484 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 24 | #4,079 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 25 | #3,768 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 29 | #3,230 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 22 | #3,841 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 24 | #3,590 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 28 | #3,119 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 29 | #2,958 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 28 | #3,147 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 22 | #3,698 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 40 | #2,422 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 36 | #2,561 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 26 | #3,065 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 26 | #3,053 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 28 | #2,774 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 34 | #2,392 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 43 | #1,987 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 42 | #1,966 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 34 | #2,262 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 35 | #2,285 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 36 | #2,225 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 38 | #2,045 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 32 | #2,154 | 0.02 |
| 1967 | 29 | #2,254 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 30 | #2,179 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 37 | #1,904 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 49 | #1,657 | 0.03 |
| 1963 | 53 | #1,559 | 0.03 |
| 1962 | 42 | #1,773 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 67 | #1,368 | 0.03 |
| 1960 | 85 | #1,182 | 0.04 |
| 1959 | 78 | #1,211 | 0.04 |
| 1958 | 88 | #1,134 | 0.04 |
| 1957 | 81 | #1,174 | 0.04 |
| 1956 | 106 | #996 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 97 | #1,021 | 0.05 |
| 1954 | 110 | #917 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 137 | #783 | 0.07 |
| 1952 | 128 | #804 | 0.07 |
| 1951 | 140 | #742 | 0.08 |
| 1950 | 157 | #683 | 0.09 |
| 1949 | 132 | #746 | 0.08 |
| 1948 | 182 | #612 | 0.11 |
| 1947 | 181 | #625 | 0.10 |
| 1946 | 197 | #568 | 0.13 |
| 1945 | 184 | #540 | 0.14 |
| 1944 | 176 | #546 | 0.13 |
| 1943 | 225 | #498 | 0.16 |
| 1942 | 261 | #461 | 0.19 |
| 1941 | 240 | #441 | 0.20 |
| 1940 | 296 | #393 | 0.26 |
| 1939 | 271 | #410 | 0.25 |
| 1938 | 331 | #356 | 0.30 |
| 1937 | 321 | #360 | 0.30 |
| 1936 | 351 | #332 | 0.34 |
| 1935 | 390 | #319 | 0.37 |
| 1934 | 427 | #302 | 0.41 |
| 1933 | 443 | #286 | 0.44 |
| 1932 | 483 | #284 | 0.45 |
| 1931 | 456 | #294 | 0.43 |
| 1930 | 511 | #294 | 0.45 |
| 1929 | 489 | #296 | 0.44 |
| 1928 | 498 | #301 | 0.43 |
| 1927 | 562 | #283 | 0.47 |
| 1926 | 531 | #291 | 0.45 |
| 1925 | 627 | #266 | 0.52 |
| 1924 | 635 | #262 | 0.51 |
| 1923 | 624 | #257 | 0.52 |
| 1922 | 647 | #257 | 0.54 |
| 1921 | 760 | #238 | 0.62 |
| 1920 | 661 | #256 | 0.55 |
| 1919 | 666 | #248 | 0.59 |
| 1918 | 687 | #246 | 0.59 |
| 1917 | 766 | #221 | 0.71 |
| 1916 | 722 | #226 | 0.69 |
| 1915 | 689 | #228 | 0.70 |
| 1914 | 530 | #232 | 0.70 |
| 1913 | 491 | #211 | 0.79 |
| 1912 | 422 | #218 | 0.76 |
| 1911 | 322 | #220 | 0.77 |
| 1910 | 318 | #203 | 0.80 |
| 1909 | 277 | #207 | 0.80 |
| 1908 | 288 | #193 | 0.86 |
| 1907 | 261 | #201 | 0.82 |
| 1906 | 241 | #197 | 0.82 |
| 1905 | 229 | #201 | 0.79 |
| 1904 | 226 | #200 | 0.82 |
| 1903 | 206 | #204 | 0.79 |
| 1902 | 247 | #186 | 0.94 |
| 1901 | 205 | #200 | 0.86 |
| 1900 | 256 | #198 | 0.85 |
| 1899 | 192 | #201 | 0.82 |
| 1898 | 246 | #186 | 1.0 |
| 1897 | 209 | #190 | 0.89 |
| 1896 | 215 | #187 | 0.90 |
| 1895 | 247 | #171 | 1.1 |
| 1894 | 215 | #181 | 1.0 |
| 1893 | 187 | #188 | 0.88 |
| 1892 | 216 | #172 | 1.0 |
| 1891 | 190 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1890 | 221 | #160 | 1.2 |
| 1889 | 194 | #156 | 1.1 |
| 1888 | 188 | #159 | 1.1 |
| 1887 | 146 | #168 | 1.0 |
| 1886 | 175 | #144 | 1.2 |
| 1885 | 151 | #151 | 1.1 |
| 1884 | 120 | #162 | 0.93 |
| 1883 | 116 | #154 | 1.0 |
| 1882 | 103 | #159 | 1.0 |
| 1881 | 75 | #175 | 0.82 |
| 1880 | 77 | #170 | 0.85 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Nell a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Nell has been given almost only to girls: 98 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Nell: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nell, and how old are they?
5,690 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 21% of the 27,710 Americans ever recorded as Nell. The median Nell alive today is 68 years old; half are between 23 and 82.
The 2020 Census counted 7,222 people named Nell (7,067 women and girls, 155 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,730 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,550 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,570 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 512 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 384 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 437 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,180 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Nell born?
The states with the most babies named Nell are Texas, Alabama and North Carolina, with 33% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 2,164 | #2,572 | 1.7× |
| Alabama | 1,945 | not ranked | 3.2× |
| North Carolina | 1,812 | not ranked | 2.4× |
| Tennessee | 1,686 | #1,090 | 2.9× |
| Georgia | 1,682 | not ranked | 2.4× |
| Kentucky | 1,136 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Mississippi | 1,061 | not ranked | 2.4× |
| South Carolina | 957 | not ranked | 2.1× |
| Virginia | 928 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Louisiana | 841 | not ranked | 1.8× |
Where Nell is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Nell is most over-represented in Alabama: since 1910 it was given 3.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Nell with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 189,277 babies since 1880, Nell is the second most given (15% of them). In 2025 it was given to 128 of their 888 babies (14%), the third most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Nell
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Nell and names like it
- Compare Nell and NellieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sNell peaked in 1917.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nell since 1910.
- The top names of 1917The year the most babies were named Nell.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Nell alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with NMost given first.