Nelly
Nelly was given to 173 girls in 2025, #1,294 among girls’ names; 7,871 Americans have been recorded with it since 1882 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 6,950 Americans named Nelly and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (88% of everyone recorded); the median is 24 years old and half are between 13 and 42.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nelly by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Nelly mean?
Wiktionary, Swedish section
Nelly is “a female given name”
From English Nelly. First recorded as a Swedish name in 1803.
/¹nɛlʏ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, Swedish section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Nelly?
#1,294 among girls’ names, 2025
Nelly rose from #1,725 in 2015 to #1,294 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.07 to 0.11 per 1,000.
213 babies in 2007, the peak
Nelly peaked in 2007, when 213 babies were given it (208 girls, #1,209 among girls’ names). The 182 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 85% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 173 | #1,294 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 168 | #1,362 | 0.10 |
| 2023 | 142 | #1,517 | 0.09 |
| 2022 | 158 | #1,428 | 0.10 |
| 2021 | 135 | #1,561 | 0.08 |
| 2020 | 92 | #2,029 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 146 | #1,496 | 0.09 |
| 2018 | 99 | #1,995 | 0.06 |
| 2017 | 128 | #1,683 | 0.07 |
| 2016 | 104 | #1,938 | 0.06 |
Every recorded year (135)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 122 | #1,725 | 0.07 |
| 2014 | 139 | #1,567 | 0.08 |
| 2013 | 130 | #1,642 | 0.07 |
| 2012 | 159 | #1,442 | 0.09 |
| 2011 | 147 | #1,513 | 0.08 |
| 2010 | 161 | #1,426 | 0.09 |
| 2009 | 194 | #1,263 | 0.11 |
| 2008 | 195 | #1,278 | 0.10 |
| 2007 | 208 | #1,209 | 0.11 |
| 2006 | 158 | #1,433 | 0.08 |
| 2005 | 150 | #1,431 | 0.08 |
| 2004 | 156 | #1,355 | 0.08 |
| 2003 | 159 | #1,306 | 0.09 |
| 2002 | 144 | #1,348 | 0.08 |
| 2001 | 119 | #1,570 | 0.07 |
| 2000 | 113 | #1,573 | 0.06 |
| 1999 | 85 | #1,866 | 0.05 |
| 1998 | 79 | #1,932 | 0.04 |
| 1997 | 84 | #1,794 | 0.05 |
| 1996 | 104 | #1,536 | 0.06 |
| 1995 | 97 | #1,568 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 107 | #1,480 | 0.06 |
| 1993 | 97 | #1,586 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 126 | #1,332 | 0.07 |
| 1991 | 91 | #1,645 | 0.05 |
| 1990 | 103 | #1,504 | 0.05 |
| 1989 | 73 | #1,826 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 92 | #1,485 | 0.05 |
| 1987 | 79 | #1,586 | 0.05 |
| 1986 | 69 | #1,707 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 83 | #1,486 | 0.05 |
| 1984 | 69 | #1,612 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 69 | #1,623 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 85 | #1,433 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 81 | #1,497 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 70 | #1,654 | 0.04 |
| 1979 | 62 | #1,759 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 85 | #1,383 | 0.06 |
| 1977 | 73 | #1,511 | 0.05 |
| 1976 | 78 | #1,379 | 0.05 |
| 1975 | 62 | #1,598 | 0.04 |
| 1974 | 77 | #1,361 | 0.05 |
| 1973 | 54 | #1,680 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 47 | #1,822 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 48 | #1,845 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 48 | #1,852 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 37 | #2,091 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 44 | #1,801 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 42 | #1,807 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 38 | #1,872 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 35 | #1,976 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 44 | #1,769 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 42 | #1,804 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 45 | #1,698 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 39 | #1,859 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 62 | #1,398 | 0.03 |
| 1959 | 56 | #1,445 | 0.03 |
| 1958 | 46 | #1,582 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 37 | #1,802 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 55 | #1,428 | 0.03 |
| 1955 | 57 | #1,344 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 35 | #1,758 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 30 | #1,856 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 28 | #1,921 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 19 | #2,369 | 0.01 |
| 1950 | 21 | #2,166 | 0.01 |
| 1949 | 21 | #2,192 | 0.01 |
| 1948 | 17 | #2,467 | 0.01 |
| 1947 | 28 | #1,847 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 7 | #4,296 | under 0.01 |
| 1945 | 15 | #2,313 | 0.01 |
| 1944 | 9 | #3,307 | 0.01 |
| 1943 | 12 | #2,805 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 20 | #1,957 | 0.01 |
| 1941 | 9 | #3,178 | 0.01 |
| 1940 | 22 | #1,731 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 21 | #1,715 | 0.02 |
| 1938 | 9 | #3,113 | 0.01 |
| 1937 | 19 | #1,828 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 9 | #3,030 | 0.01 |
| 1935 | 14 | #2,273 | 0.01 |
| 1934 | 17 | #1,974 | 0.02 |
| 1933 | 14 | #2,245 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 13 | #2,456 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 20 | #1,784 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 26 | #1,559 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 15 | #2,273 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 24 | #1,720 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 17 | #2,228 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 28 | #1,578 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 26 | #1,687 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 19 | #2,113 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 22 | #1,880 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 18 | #2,168 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 20 | #2,028 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 21 | #1,934 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 17 | #2,133 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 20 | #1,941 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 24 | #1,587 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 10 | #2,967 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 18 | #1,860 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 13 | #1,982 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 14 | #1,652 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 7 | #2,558 | 0.01 |
| 1910 | 7 | #2,079 | 0.02 |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,906 | 0.02 |
| 1908 | 5 | #2,344 | 0.01 |
| 1907 | 7 | #1,763 | 0.02 |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,674 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 5 | #2,147 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,802 | 0.02 |
| 1903 | 8 | #1,408 | 0.03 |
| 1902 | 8 | #1,403 | 0.03 |
| 1901 | 9 | #1,203 | 0.04 |
| 1897 | 6 | #1,502 | 0.03 |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,543 | 0.03 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,590 | 0.02 |
| 1892 | 5 | #1,599 | 0.02 |
| 1890 | 8 | #1,071 | 0.04 |
| 1888 | 9 | #940 | 0.05 |
| 1887 | 9 | #832 | 0.06 |
| 1886 | 5 | #1,231 | 0.03 |
| 1885 | 9 | #784 | 0.07 |
| 1883 | 8 | #739 | 0.07 |
| 1882 | 10 | #625 | 0.09 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Nelly a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 7,871 Americans recorded as Nelly, 99% are girls and 1% boys. In 2025 it went to 173 girls and 9 boys.
Girls and boys named Nelly: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nelly, and how old are they?
6,950 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 88% of the 7,871 Americans ever recorded as Nelly. The median Nelly alive today is 24 years old; half are between 13 and 42.
The 2020 Census counted 19,416 people named Nelly (19,234 women and girls, 182 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,220 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3.1 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 79 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 551 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 840 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,390 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,330 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,770 |
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 Nelly born?
The states with the most babies named Nelly are California, Texas and New York, with 41% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 23 | #1,140 | 2.0× |
| Texas | 16 | #1,516 | 1.7× |
| New York | 11 | #1,290 | 1.7× |
| North Carolina | 9 | #1,037 | 0.4× |
| Florida | 8 | #1,651 | 0.6× |
| Illinois | 6 | #1,362 | 1.1× |
| Arizona | 6 | #1,002 | 0.4× |
| Ohio | 6 | #1,393 | 0.0× |
| Wisconsin | 6 | #768 | 0.1× |
| New Jersey | 5 | #1,305 | 0.4× |
Where Nelly is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Nelly is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 2.0 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 Nelly 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 178,312 babies since 1880, Nelly is the second most given (4.4% of them). In 2025 it was given to 182 of their 972 babies (19%), again the second 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 Nelly
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 Nelly and names like it
- Compare Nelly and NellieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2000sNelly peaked in 2007.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nelly since 1910.
- Swedish namesWiktionary’s origin for Nelly: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2007The year the most babies were named Nelly.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Nelly alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with NMost given first.