Meaning not yet researched.
Nelly: US girls given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 173 in 2025. Its best rank was #625 in 1882.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #625 in 1882; #1,294 in 2025. About 95% of babies named Nelly in 2025 were girls.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#1,294 for US girls in 2025. Its best year was 1882, at #625.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Nelly: US girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 173 girls in 2025. Peak: #625 in 1882 · most girls in one year: 208 (2007).
In 2025, 173 US girls were named Nelly, making it the 1,294th most common girls’ name of the year, up 68 places from #1,362 in 2024. That is 5 more than the 168 girls named Nelly in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #625, reached in 1882. The most girls given the name in a single year was 208, in 2007. For comparison, it was #1,725 in 2015 and #2,167 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Nelly in 135 years of the 146 from 1880 to 2025, starting in 1882 with 10 babies. In all, 7,871 US babies have been given the name, 99% of them girls and 1.0% boys. Its busiest decade was the 2000s, with 1,627 babies named Nelly.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 1,345 US girls were named Nelly; the busiest of those years was 2025, with 173. In 2025 that was about 1 in 9,291 of the girls in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Nelly ranked highest in Wisconsin in 2025, at #768 for girls there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Nellie (153,284 babies since 1880), Nell (27,710 babies since 1880), Nelle (5,794 babies since 1880) and Neely (2,630 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Nely, Neeley and Nealy are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in Dutch and French. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Nely (603), Neeley (412), Nealy (379), Neleh (128), Nelya (86), Niley (76), Neily (71), Nealey (15).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for Nelly in the open dataset we use.
Nelly is listed as a nickname for Cornelia, Eleanor, Nelle.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
US girls. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five girls got the name, so 36 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 6 | #768 | — |
| Kentucky | 5 | #836 | — |
| Minnesota | 5 | #959 | — |
| Arizona | 6 | #1,002 | — |
| North Carolina | 9 | #1,037 | #1,358 |
| California | 23 | #1,140 | #1,080 |
| Indiana | 5 | #1,159 | — |
| New York | 11 | #1,290 | #1,263 |
| New Jersey | 5 | #1,305 | #1,310 |
| Virginia | 5 | #1,323 | — |
| Illinois | 6 | #1,362 | — |
| Ohio | 6 | #1,394 | — |
| Texas | 16 | #1,516 | #1,304 |
| Pennsylvania | 5 | #1,559 | — |
| Florida | 8 | #1,651 | — |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 173 | #1,294 | 9 | #8,710 |
| 2024 | 168 | #1,362 | 6 | #11,926 |
| 2023 | 142 | #1,517 | 5 | #13,576 |
| 2022 | 158 | #1,428 | — | — |
| 2021 | 135 | #1,561 | 9 | #8,637 |
| 2020 | 92 | #2,029 | — | — |
| 2019 | 146 | #1,496 | 6 | #11,733 |
| 2018 | 99 | #1,995 | — | — |
| 2017 | 128 | #1,683 | — | — |
| 2016 | 104 | #1,938 | — | — |
| 2015 | 122 | #1,725 | 6 | #11,682 |
| 2014 | 139 | #1,567 | — | — |
| 2013 | 130 | #1,642 | — | — |
| 2012 | 159 | #1,442 | — | — |
| 2011 | 147 | #1,513 | — | — |
| 2010 | 161 | #1,426 | 7 | #10,427 |
| 2009 | 194 | #1,263 | — | — |
| 2008 | 195 | #1,278 | — | — |
| 2007 | 208 | #1,209 | 5 | #13,816 |
| 2006 | 158 | #1,433 | 7 | #10,336 |
| 2005 | 150 | #1,431 | 7 | #9,837 |
| 2004 | 156 | #1,356 | — | — |
| 2003 | 159 | #1,307 | 7 | #9,328 |
| 2002 | 144 | #1,349 | 5 | #11,923 |
| 2001 | 119 | #1,571 | — | — |
| 2000 | 113 | #1,575 | — | — |
| 1999 | 85 | #1,869 | — | — |
| 1998 | 79 | #1,935 | — | — |
| 1997 | 84 | #1,797 | — | — |
| 1996 | 104 | #1,538 | — | — |
| 1995 | 97 | #1,572 | — | — |
| 1994 | 107 | #1,483 | — | — |
| 1993 | 97 | #1,588 | — | — |
| 1992 | 126 | #1,335 | — | — |
| 1991 | 91 | #1,651 | — | — |
| 1990 | 103 | #1,508 | — | — |
| 1989 | 73 | #1,830 | — | — |
| 1988 | 92 | #1,486 | — | — |
| 1987 | 79 | #1,587 | — | — |
| 1986 | 69 | #1,708 | — | — |
| 1985 | 83 | #1,487 | — | — |
| 1984 | 69 | #1,612 | — | — |
| 1983 | 69 | #1,623 | — | — |
| 1982 | 85 | #1,433 | — | — |
| 1981 | 81 | #1,497 | — | — |
| 1980 | 70 | #1,654 | — | — |
| 1979 | 62 | #1,759 | — | — |
| 1978 | 85 | #1,383 | — | — |
| 1977 | 73 | #1,511 | — | — |
| 1976 | 78 | #1,379 | — | — |
| 1975 | 62 | #1,598 | — | — |
| 1974 | 77 | #1,361 | — | — |
| 1973 | 54 | #1,680 | — | — |
| 1972 | 47 | #1,822 | — | — |
| 1971 | 48 | #1,845 | — | — |
| 1970 | 48 | #1,852 | — | — |
| 1969 | 37 | #2,091 | — | — |
| 1968 | 44 | #1,801 | — | — |
| 1967 | 42 | #1,807 | — | — |
| 1966 | 38 | #1,872 | — | — |
| 1965 | 35 | #1,976 | — | — |
| 1964 | 44 | #1,769 | — | — |
| 1963 | 42 | #1,805 | — | — |
| 1962 | 45 | #1,699 | — | — |
| 1961 | 39 | #1,860 | — | — |
| 1960 | 62 | #1,399 | — | — |
| 1959 | 56 | #1,446 | — | — |
| 1958 | 46 | #1,583 | — | — |
| 1957 | 37 | #1,803 | — | — |
| 1956 | 55 | #1,429 | — | — |
| 1955 | 57 | #1,345 | — | — |
| 1954 | 35 | #1,759 | — | — |
| 1953 | 30 | #1,857 | — | — |
| 1952 | 28 | #1,922 | — | — |
| 1951 | 19 | #2,370 | — | — |
| 1950 | 21 | #2,167 | — | — |
| 1949 | 21 | #2,193 | — | — |
| 1948 | 17 | #2,468 | — | — |
| 1947 | 28 | #1,848 | — | — |
| 1946 | 7 | #4,297 | — | — |
| 1945 | 15 | #2,314 | — | — |
| 1944 | 9 | #3,308 | — | — |
| 1943 | 12 | #2,806 | — | — |
| 1942 | 20 | #1,958 | — | — |
| 1941 | 9 | #3,180 | — | — |
| 1940 | 22 | #1,731 | — | — |
| 1939 | 21 | #1,715 | — | — |
| 1938 | 9 | #3,115 | — | — |
| 1937 | 19 | #1,828 | — | — |
| 1936 | 9 | #3,032 | — | — |
| 1935 | 14 | #2,274 | — | — |
| 1934 | 17 | #1,975 | — | — |
| 1933 | 14 | #2,246 | — | — |
| 1932 | 13 | #2,458 | — | — |
| 1931 | 20 | #1,785 | — | — |
| 1930 | 26 | #1,560 | — | — |
| 1929 | 15 | #2,274 | — | — |
| 1928 | 24 | #1,721 | — | — |
| 1927 | 17 | #2,229 | — | — |
| 1926 | 28 | #1,579 | — | — |
| 1925 | 26 | #1,688 | — | — |
| 1924 | 19 | #2,114 | — | — |
| 1923 | 22 | #1,880 | — | — |
| 1922 | 18 | #2,168 | — | — |
| 1921 | 20 | #2,028 | — | — |
| 1920 | 21 | #1,934 | — | — |
| 1919 | 17 | #2,133 | — | — |
| 1918 | 20 | #1,941 | — | — |
| 1917 | 24 | #1,587 | — | — |
| 1916 | 10 | #2,969 | — | — |
| 1915 | 18 | #1,861 | — | — |
| 1914 | 13 | #1,982 | — | — |
| 1913 | 14 | #1,652 | — | — |
| 1912 | 7 | #2,560 | — | — |
| 1910 | 7 | #2,079 | — | — |
| 1909 | 7 | #1,906 | — | — |
| 1908 | 5 | #2,344 | — | — |
| 1907 | 7 | #1,764 | — | — |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,674 | — | — |
| 1905 | 5 | #2,148 | — | — |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,803 | — | — |
| 1903 | 8 | #1,408 | — | — |
| 1902 | 8 | #1,403 | — | — |
| 1901 | 9 | #1,203 | — | — |
| 1897 | 6 | #1,503 | — | — |
| 1895 | 6 | #1,543 | — | — |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,590 | — | — |
| 1892 | 5 | #1,599 | — | — |
| 1890 | 8 | #1,071 | — | — |
| 1888 | 9 | #940 | — | — |
| 1887 | 9 | #832 | — | — |
| 1886 | 5 | #1,231 | — | — |
| 1885 | 9 | #784 | — | — |
| 1883 | 8 | #739 | — | — |
| 1882 | 10 | #625 | — | — |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).