Nels
Nels was given to 22 boys in 2025, #4,655 among boys’ names; 3,841 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,780 Americans named Nels and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (46% of everyone recorded); the median is 52 years old and half are between 33 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nels by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Nels?
#4,655 among boys’ names, 2025
Nels rose from #6,208 in 2015 to #4,655 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 7.3 to 12.9 per million.
65 babies in 1918, the peak
Nels peaked in 1918, when 65 boys were given it, #813 among boys’ names. The 22 births of 2025 are 34% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22 | #4,655 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 18 | #5,376 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 19 | #5,188 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 19 | #5,159 | 0.01 |
| 2021 | 23 | #4,450 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 16 | #5,621 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 13 | #6,669 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 11 | #7,466 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 16 | #5,705 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 15 | #5,969 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 14 | #6,208 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 21 | #4,649 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 7 | #10,402 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 11 | #7,388 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 12 | #6,871 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 17 | #5,404 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 16 | #5,731 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 10 | #8,106 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 12 | #6,954 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 7 | #10,330 | under 0.01 |
| 2005 | 15 | #5,488 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 12 | #6,397 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 9 | #7,652 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 10 | #6,896 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 14 | #5,312 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 14 | #5,234 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 8 | #7,650 | under 0.01 |
| 1998 | 13 | #5,091 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 14 | #4,607 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 19 | #3,630 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 11 | #5,399 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 12 | #5,022 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 18 | #3,593 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 17 | #3,695 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 17 | #3,569 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 23 | #2,835 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 25 | #2,583 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 15 | #3,469 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 22 | #2,528 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 22 | #2,479 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 18 | #2,790 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 27 | #2,019 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 20 | #2,471 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 41 | #1,531 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 31 | #1,846 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 43 | #1,464 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 28 | #1,928 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 22 | #2,179 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 27 | #1,888 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 37 | #1,488 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 21 | #2,181 | 0.01 |
| 1974 | 29 | #1,681 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 32 | #1,535 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 23 | #1,910 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 28 | #1,697 | 0.02 |
| 1970 | 29 | #1,600 | 0.02 |
| 1969 | 33 | #1,408 | 0.02 |
| 1968 | 24 | #1,631 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 33 | #1,332 | 0.02 |
| 1966 | 41 | #1,174 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 32 | #1,372 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 27 | #1,530 | 0.01 |
| 1963 | 38 | #1,269 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 31 | #1,415 | 0.01 |
| 1961 | 46 | #1,166 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 38 | #1,287 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 43 | #1,189 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 42 | #1,199 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 43 | #1,194 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 51 | #1,064 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 55 | #1,020 | 0.03 |
| 1954 | 36 | #1,259 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 48 | #1,051 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 46 | #1,075 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 45 | #1,077 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 45 | #1,057 | 0.03 |
| 1949 | 41 | #1,106 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 36 | #1,210 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 36 | #1,225 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 46 | #1,010 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 26 | #1,319 | 0.02 |
| 1944 | 35 | #1,130 | 0.03 |
| 1943 | 36 | #1,151 | 0.03 |
| 1942 | 35 | #1,186 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 23 | #1,436 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 35 | #1,123 | 0.03 |
| 1939 | 31 | #1,187 | 0.03 |
| 1938 | 28 | #1,269 | 0.03 |
| 1937 | 38 | #1,051 | 0.04 |
| 1936 | 30 | #1,218 | 0.03 |
| 1935 | 26 | #1,345 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 32 | #1,185 | 0.03 |
| 1933 | 40 | #1,026 | 0.04 |
| 1932 | 24 | #1,454 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 42 | #1,045 | 0.04 |
| 1930 | 26 | #1,451 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 26 | #1,437 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 32 | #1,288 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 52 | #973 | 0.05 |
| 1926 | 39 | #1,154 | 0.04 |
| 1925 | 47 | #1,006 | 0.04 |
| 1924 | 37 | #1,200 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 38 | #1,170 | 0.03 |
| 1922 | 38 | #1,174 | 0.03 |
| 1921 | 45 | #1,056 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 44 | #1,061 | 0.04 |
| 1919 | 34 | #1,223 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 65 | #813 | 0.06 |
| 1917 | 46 | #952 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 58 | #818 | 0.07 |
| 1915 | 56 | #821 | 0.07 |
| 1914 | 45 | #791 | 0.07 |
| 1913 | 39 | #753 | 0.08 |
| 1912 | 30 | #814 | 0.07 |
| 1911 | 18 | #783 | 0.08 |
| 1910 | 11 | #1,023 | 0.06 |
| 1909 | 11 | #938 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 13 | #769 | 0.08 |
| 1907 | 16 | #655 | 0.11 |
| 1906 | 11 | #790 | 0.08 |
| 1905 | 14 | #657 | 0.11 |
| 1904 | 7 | #1,034 | 0.05 |
| 1903 | 9 | #826 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 14 | #606 | 0.11 |
| 1901 | 8 | #831 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 8 | #1,020 | 0.05 |
| 1899 | 14 | #541 | 0.13 |
| 1898 | 19 | #481 | 0.15 |
| 1897 | 14 | #576 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 21 | #434 | 0.18 |
| 1895 | 20 | #449 | 0.17 |
| 1894 | 20 | #432 | 0.17 |
| 1893 | 32 | #310 | 0.28 |
| 1892 | 19 | #455 | 0.16 |
| 1891 | 18 | #425 | 0.18 |
| 1890 | 15 | #503 | 0.14 |
| 1889 | 17 | #456 | 0.15 |
| 1888 | 32 | #323 | 0.26 |
| 1887 | 19 | #385 | 0.19 |
| 1886 | 15 | #485 | 0.14 |
| 1885 | 20 | #407 | 0.19 |
| 1884 | 32 | #309 | 0.28 |
| 1883 | 19 | #410 | 0.18 |
| 1882 | 26 | #353 | 0.23 |
| 1881 | 18 | #407 | 0.18 |
| 1880 | 12 | #553 | 0.11 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Nels a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Nels has been recorded only for boys: SSA lists no girls with the name in 146 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Nels: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nels, and how old are they?
1,780 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 46% of the 3,841 Americans ever recorded as Nels. The median Nels alive today is 52 years old; half are between 33 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 1,848 people named Nels (4 women and girls, 1,844 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,858 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 110 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 520 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 425 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 320 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 191 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 212 |
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 Nels born?
The states with the most babies named Nels are Minnesota, California and Wisconsin, with 62% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Minnesota and Wisconsin are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 228 | not ranked | 3.2× |
| California | 145 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Wisconsin | 84 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 77 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Washington | 60 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Iowa | 42 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 42 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| North Dakota | 34 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Nebraska | 19 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| South Dakota | 12 | not ranked | 0.7× |
Where Nels is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Nels is most over-represented in Minnesota: 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 boys’ 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 Nels 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 3,919 babies since 1880, Nels is the most given (98% of them). In 2025 it was given to 22 of their 22 babies (100%), 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 Nels
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 Nels and names like it
- Compare Nels and NeilsBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sNels peaked in 1918.
- Minnesota’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nels since 1910.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Nels.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Nels alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with NMost given first.