How rare is the name Nelson?

78,256 people in the United States have the first name Nelson, about 1 in 3,860. It ranks #676 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

NELSON

#676

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
78,256
About
1 in 3,860
This common or more
63.9%
Who bears it

Of the 78,256 people named Nelson, 56.5% reported their origin as Hispanic or Latino, 26.1% as White and 8.4% as Black. Virtually all are male (99.6%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Nelson peaked in 1959, when 1,084 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1959
Births that year
1,084
In 2025*
300 ▼72%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 80,140 babies have been given the name since 1880. 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.

Nelson by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #374. The largest share of babies named Nelson, 21.3%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#374849
1890s#453920
1900s#4961,064
1910s#4394,752
1920s#4546,980
1930s#4436,524
1940s#4647,854
1950s#5209,221
1960s#5688,607
1970s#6256,931
1980s#6537,067
1990s#7277,202
2000s#9475,883
2010s#1,2784,275
2020s#1,5662,011
Before 19012.4%
Greatest Generation 1901–2714.2%
Silent Generation 1928–4515.6%
Baby boom 1946–6421.3%
Generation X 1965–8014.4%
Millennials 1981–9614.6%
Generation Z 1997–1211.4%
2013 and later6.1%

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 Nelson is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Nelson has been most common in Hawaii (3.1×), New York (2.2×), and Virginia (1.8×), and least common in Nebraska (0.07×).

72,371 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 Nelson

#674 Gordon · 78,487#675 Erick · 78,395#677 Felicia · 78,101#678 Johnathan · 78,090

Spelled almost the same

One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Nelson, most common first.

#28,083 Neilson · 322

Also a last name

As a last name, Nelson ranks #44 of 156,621, with 410,801 people. See Nelson as a last name

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