Girls' name · peaked in 1881
Nellie name popularity since 1925
57,857 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Nellie. Half of them were born in 1938 or earlier, so the typical Nellie is about 88 years old in 2026. Nellie peaked in 1881 as the #14 name for girls, and it ranked #533 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 57,857
- Named Nellie, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1881
- #14 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #533
- for girls in 2025 (567 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% girls
- 57,619 girls · 238 boys
- Most popular in
- Alabama
- 3.88× its national share
Peak year is the year Nellie 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.
Nellie births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Nellie peaked earlier, in 1881.
- Steepest fall: Between 1941 and 1946, Nellie's share of baby girls fell by 47%, from 1 in 941 to 1 in 1,780.
- Fastest rise: Between 2017 and 2022, it became 2.4× more common, from 1 in 8,810 baby girls to 1 in 3,680.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Nellie's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Nellie.
Decade by decade
Babies named Nellie 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 | 12,881 | 69 | – |
| 1930s | 17,703 | 132 | #131 |
| 1940s | 10,207 | 37 | #210 |
| 1950s | 5,360 | 0 | #386 |
| 1960s | 2,409 | 0 | #691 |
| 1970s | 1,479 | 0 | #883 |
| 1980s | 1,112 | 0 | #1,274 |
| 1990s | 838 | 0 | #1,697 |
| 2000s | 971 | 0 | #2,198 |
| 2010s | 1,859 | 0 | #1,245 |
| 2020–25 | 2,800 | 0 | #533 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
50.6% of babies named Nellie from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Nellie is most popular
The index compares Nellie'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 Nellie.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3.88× | 3,687 |
| West Virginia | 3.49× | 1,650 |
| Mississippi | 3.17× | 2,062 |
| North Carolina | 2.70× | 4,109 |
| Kentucky | 2.65× | 2,388 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Nellie and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Nellie (this page) | 57,619 | 1881 |
| Nelly | 7,420 | 2007 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Nellie's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Nellie.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Nellie (1881).
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