Nellie
Nellie was given to 567 girls in 2025, #533 among girls’ names; 153,284 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 25,000 Americans named Nellie and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (16% of everyone recorded); the median is 71 years old and half are between 35 and 83.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nellie by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Nellie mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Nellie is “a diminutive of the female given names Eleanor, Ellen, Helen, and Chanel; popular as a formal given name at the turn of the 20th century.”
Also “a diminutive of the female given name Chanel.”
Suffixed with -ie, compare Noll and Neddie, respectively from Oliver and Edward.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Nellie?
#533 among girls’ names, 2025
Nellie rose from #1,245 in 2015 to #533 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.11 to 0.35 per 1,000.
4,057 babies in 1918, the peak
Nellie peaked in 1918, when 4,057 babies were given it (4,048 girls, #65 among girls’ names). The 567 births of 2025 are 14% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 567 | #533 | 0.35 |
| 2024 | 592 | #521 | 0.37 |
| 2023 | 486 | #615 | 0.30 |
| 2022 | 446 | #663 | 0.27 |
| 2021 | 384 | #743 | 0.23 |
| 2020 | 325 | #842 | 0.20 |
| 2019 | 311 | #864 | 0.19 |
| 2018 | 239 | #1,070 | 0.14 |
| 2017 | 196 | #1,228 | 0.11 |
| 2016 | 202 | #1,222 | 0.11 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 197 | #1,245 | 0.11 |
| 2014 | 183 | #1,303 | 0.10 |
| 2013 | 158 | #1,434 | 0.09 |
| 2012 | 139 | #1,572 | 0.08 |
| 2011 | 116 | #1,767 | 0.07 |
| 2010 | 118 | #1,757 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 125 | #1,752 | 0.07 |
| 2008 | 113 | #1,886 | 0.06 |
| 2007 | 119 | #1,800 | 0.06 |
| 2006 | 99 | #2,013 | 0.05 |
| 2005 | 84 | #2,197 | 0.05 |
| 2004 | 97 | #1,937 | 0.05 |
| 2003 | 88 | #2,039 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 93 | #1,907 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 85 | #2,003 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 68 | #2,296 | 0.04 |
| 1999 | 85 | #1,865 | 0.05 |
| 1998 | 86 | #1,812 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 76 | #1,920 | 0.04 |
| 1996 | 76 | #1,908 | 0.04 |
| 1995 | 87 | #1,693 | 0.05 |
| 1994 | 76 | #1,879 | 0.04 |
| 1993 | 71 | #1,977 | 0.04 |
| 1992 | 82 | #1,776 | 0.04 |
| 1991 | 81 | #1,768 | 0.04 |
| 1990 | 118 | #1,349 | 0.06 |
| 1989 | 98 | #1,484 | 0.05 |
| 1988 | 97 | #1,432 | 0.05 |
| 1987 | 72 | #1,693 | 0.04 |
| 1986 | 96 | #1,357 | 0.06 |
| 1985 | 106 | #1,274 | 0.06 |
| 1984 | 114 | #1,172 | 0.07 |
| 1983 | 129 | #1,078 | 0.08 |
| 1982 | 127 | #1,112 | 0.08 |
| 1981 | 135 | #1,059 | 0.08 |
| 1980 | 138 | #1,041 | 0.08 |
| 1979 | 154 | #953 | 0.10 |
| 1978 | 143 | #974 | 0.09 |
| 1977 | 134 | #1,006 | 0.09 |
| 1976 | 131 | #974 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 151 | #883 | 0.10 |
| 1974 | 156 | #846 | 0.11 |
| 1973 | 136 | #910 | 0.09 |
| 1972 | 151 | #859 | 0.10 |
| 1971 | 164 | #839 | 0.10 |
| 1970 | 159 | #852 | 0.09 |
| 1969 | 147 | #859 | 0.09 |
| 1968 | 165 | #781 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 197 | #697 | 0.12 |
| 1966 | 213 | #665 | 0.13 |
| 1965 | 202 | #691 | 0.11 |
| 1964 | 262 | #627 | 0.14 |
| 1963 | 259 | #630 | 0.13 |
| 1962 | 266 | #615 | 0.14 |
| 1961 | 335 | #537 | 0.17 |
| 1960 | 363 | #507 | 0.18 |
| 1959 | 384 | #500 | 0.19 |
| 1958 | 382 | #489 | 0.19 |
| 1957 | 432 | #456 | 0.21 |
| 1956 | 487 | #409 | 0.24 |
| 1955 | 521 | #385 | 0.27 |
| 1954 | 550 | #371 | 0.28 |
| 1953 | 606 | #336 | 0.32 |
| 1952 | 637 | #321 | 0.34 |
| 1951 | 604 | #322 | 0.34 |
| 1950 | 757 | #283 | 0.44 |
| 1949 | 743 | #281 | 0.43 |
| 1948 | 891 | #250 | 0.52 |
| 1947 | 876 | #250 | 0.49 |
| 1946 | 885 | #240 | 0.56 |
| 1945 | 933 | #210 | 0.71 |
| 1944 | 1,011 | #199 | 0.76 |
| 1943 | 1,077 | #197 | 0.77 |
| 1942 | 1,207 | #183 | 0.89 |
| 1941 | 1,284 | #167 | 1.1 |
| 1940 | 1,300 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 1939 | 1,373 | #157 | 1.3 |
| 1938 | 1,454 | #152 | 1.3 |
| 1937 | 1,590 | #140 | 1.5 |
| 1936 | 1,665 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 1935 | 1,738 | #131 | 1.7 |
| 1934 | 1,837 | #126 | 1.8 |
| 1933 | 1,867 | #120 | 1.9 |
| 1932 | 1,979 | #123 | 1.9 |
| 1931 | 1,987 | #119 | 1.9 |
| 1930 | 2,213 | #113 | 2.0 |
| 1929 | 2,198 | #113 | 2.0 |
| 1928 | 2,346 | #111 | 2.0 |
| 1927 | 2,678 | #105 | 2.2 |
| 1926 | 2,722 | #102 | 2.3 |
| 1925 | 2,937 | #98 | 2.4 |
| 1924 | 3,075 | #92 | 2.5 |
| 1923 | 3,184 | #88 | 2.6 |
| 1922 | 3,274 | #83 | 2.7 |
| 1921 | 3,513 | #80 | 2.8 |
| 1920 | 3,762 | #76 | 3.1 |
| 1919 | 3,726 | #69 | 3.3 |
| 1918 | 4,048 | #65 | 3.5 |
| 1917 | 3,808 | #64 | 3.5 |
| 1916 | 3,862 | #61 | 3.7 |
| 1915 | 3,679 | #63 | 3.7 |
| 1914 | 2,952 | #61 | 3.9 |
| 1913 | 2,645 | #58 | 4.2 |
| 1912 | 2,365 | #59 | 4.2 |
| 1911 | 1,866 | #54 | 4.5 |
| 1910 | 1,928 | #51 | 4.9 |
| 1909 | 1,768 | #51 | 5.1 |
| 1908 | 1,757 | #49 | 5.3 |
| 1907 | 1,671 | #50 | 5.2 |
| 1906 | 1,596 | #49 | 5.4 |
| 1905 | 1,626 | #48 | 5.6 |
| 1904 | 1,560 | #44 | 5.7 |
| 1903 | 1,491 | #45 | 5.7 |
| 1902 | 1,566 | #41 | 5.9 |
| 1901 | 1,454 | #41 | 6.1 |
| 1900 | 1,850 | #43 | 6.2 |
| 1899 | 1,510 | #41 | 6.5 |
| 1898 | 1,810 | #36 | 7.0 |
| 1897 | 1,693 | #37 | 7.2 |
| 1896 | 1,696 | #34 | 7.1 |
| 1895 | 1,833 | #30 | 7.8 |
| 1894 | 1,767 | #30 | 7.9 |
| 1893 | 1,770 | #27 | 8.3 |
| 1892 | 1,738 | #30 | 8.2 |
| 1891 | 1,647 | #25 | 8.9 |
| 1890 | 1,821 | #20 | 9.6 |
| 1889 | 1,752 | #19 | 9.8 |
| 1888 | 1,736 | #21 | 9.7 |
| 1887 | 1,457 | #19 | 10.0 |
| 1886 | 1,492 | #17 | 10.3 |
| 1885 | 1,432 | #16 | 10.8 |
| 1884 | 1,417 | #17 | 11.0 |
| 1883 | 1,246 | #17 | 11.1 |
| 1882 | 1,138 | #19 | 10.6 |
| 1881 | 1,096 | #14 | 11.9 |
| 1880 | 995 | #18 | 10.9 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Nellie a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Nellie has been given almost only to girls: 593 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Nellie: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nellie, and how old are they?
25,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 16% of the 153,284 Americans ever recorded as Nellie. The median Nellie alive today is 71 years old; half are between 35 and 83.
The 2020 Census counted 26,255 people named Nellie (26,191 women and girls, 64 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 30,238 born in the U.S. The Census count is 13% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 7,320 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 7,630 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,350 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,520 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,570 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,260 |
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 Nellie born?
The states with the most babies named Nellie are North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, with 19% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 7,122 | #368 | 1.9× |
| Georgia | 6,032 | #739 | 1.7× |
| Alabama | 5,913 | #696 | 2.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 5,547 | #347 | 0.7× |
| Texas | 5,172 | #1,147 | 0.8× |
| Virginia | 4,696 | #648 | 1.7× |
| Tennessee | 4,629 | #359 | 1.7× |
| Kentucky | 4,542 | #269 | 1.7× |
| California | 3,866 | #933 | 0.8× |
| New York | 3,751 | #821 | 0.4× |
Where Nellie is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Nellie is most over-represented in Arizona: since 1910 it was given 2.2 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 Nellie 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 201,791 babies since 1880, Nellie is the most given (76% of them). In 2025 it was given to 567 of their 1,009 babies (56%), again the most given.
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 Nellie
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 Nellie and names like it
- Compare Nellie and NellBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sNellie peaked in 1918.
- North Carolina’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nellie since 1910.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Nellie.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Nellie alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with NMost given first.