first name
NELLY
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 19,416 people named Nelly, 76.2% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 13.4% as White and 4.9% as Asian or Pacific Islander. 99.1% are female. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Nelly peaked in 2007, when 213 babies got the name.
At least 7,871 babies have been given the name since 1882. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Nelly by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #1,718. The largest share of babies named Nelly, 29.8%, were born between 1997 and 2012, as Generation Z.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Nelly is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Nelly has been most common in California (3.6×), Texas (3×), and New York (2.4×), and least common in Georgia (0.49×).
4,983 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Nelly
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Nelly, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Nelly ranks #83,373 of 156,621, with 243 people. See Nelly as a last name
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🔎 NELLY 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜ 1 in 15,556 Americans Rarer than 76.1% of us Peaked in 2007 with 213 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/nelly/