Girls' name · peaked in 1938
Nelda name popularity since 1925
17,423 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Nelda. Half of them were born in 1943 or earlier, so the typical Nelda is about 83 years old in 2026. Nelda peaked in 1938 as the #266 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 17,423
- Named Nelda, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #9,906 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 100.0% girls
- 17,418 girls · 5 boys
- Most popular in
- Texas
- 5.11× its national share
Peak year is the year Nelda made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Nelda births per year, 1925–2025
1938 was the biggest year for Nelda both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Steepest fall: Between 1961 and 1966, Nelda's share of baby girls fell by 46%, from 1 in 9,010 to 1 in 16,800.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Nelda's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Nelda.
Decade by decade
Babies named Nelda in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 1,916 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 4,931 | 5 | #281 |
| 1940s | 4,870 | 0 | #320 |
| 1950s | 3,211 | 0 | #476 |
| 1960s | 1,488 | 0 | #877 |
| 1970s | 536 | 0 | #1,702 |
| 1980s | 254 | 0 | #4,586 |
| 1990s | 99 | 0 | #8,537 |
| 2000s | 57 | 0 | #12,692 |
| 2010s | 28 | 0 | #15,879 |
| 2020–25 | 28 | 0 | #9,906 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
49.9% of babies named Nelda from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Nelda is most popular
The index compares Nelda's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Nelda.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 5.11× | 6,161 |
| Oklahoma | 4.16× | 833 |
| Mississippi | 3.86× | 720 |
| Arkansas | 3.32× | 525 |
| Alabama | 3.26× | 888 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Nelda's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Nelda.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Nelda (1938).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data