Meaning not yet researched.
Nelson: US boys given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 300 in 2025. Its best rank was #136 in 1882.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #136 in 1882; #825 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Nelson in 2025 was a boy.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#825 for US boys in 2025. Its best year was 1882, at #136.
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.
Nelson: US boys given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 300 boys in 2025. Peak: #136 in 1882 · most boys in one year: 1,084 (1959).
In 2025, 300 US boys were named Nelson, making it the 825th most common boys’ name of the year, down 47 places from #778 in 2024. That is 23 fewer than the 323 boys named Nelson in 2024. Its best rank for boys was #136, reached in 1882. The most boys given the name in a single year was 1,084, in 1959. For comparison, it was #627 in 2015 and #229 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Nelson in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 99 babies with the name. In all, 80,140 US babies have been given the name, 0.5% of them girls and 99% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1950s, with 9,221 babies named Nelson.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 3,618 US boys were named Nelson; the busiest of those years was 2016, with 431. In 2025 that was about 1 in 5,694 of the boys in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Nelson ranked highest in Maryland in 2025, at #464 for boys there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Rarer spellings such as Nilson, Neilson and Nielsen are summarised on this page. The open nickname list we use links it to Nels.
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.
No related spellings pass our data threshold.
Rare spellings summarised here: Nilson (356), Neilson (218), Nielsen (11).
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.
US boys. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five boys got the name, so 31 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 11 | #464 | #438 |
| New York | 31 | #522 | #405 |
| South Carolina | 9 | #539 | — |
| Virginia | 11 | #655 | #613 |
| Alabama | 7 | #666 | #788 |
| Louisiana | 6 | #742 | #568 |
| Florida | 21 | #744 | #395 |
| California | 35 | #750 | #617 |
| Arizona | 8 | #756 | #767 |
| New Jersey | 8 | #810 | #648 |
| Pennsylvania | 10 | #830 | #608 |
| Georgia | 11 | #832 | #695 |
| Wisconsin | 5 | #852 | #541 |
| Ohio | 9 | #917 | #826 |
| Texas | 23 | #1,033 | #605 |
| Indiana | 5 | #1,042 | — |
| Washington | 5 | #1,103 | — |
| Illinois | 7 | #1,105 | #728 |
| North Carolina | 7 | #1,109 | #547 |
| Tennessee | 5 | #1,143 | #889 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | — | 300 | #825 |
| 2024 | — | — | 323 | #778 |
| 2023 | 6 | #14,670 | 311 | #798 |
| 2022 | 5 | #17,057 | 315 | #799 |
| 2021 | — | — | 358 | #722 |
| 2020 | 5 | #16,829 | 388 | #670 |
| 2019 | 5 | #17,301 | 407 | #654 |
| 2018 | — | — | 374 | #672 |
| 2017 | — | — | 411 | #632 |
| 2016 | — | — | 431 | #622 |
| 2015 | — | — | 426 | #627 |
| 2014 | — | — | 409 | #645 |
| 2013 | — | — | 442 | #581 |
| 2012 | — | — | 466 | #558 |
| 2011 | — | — | 457 | #556 |
| 2010 | — | — | 447 | #569 |
| 2009 | — | — | 520 | #520 |
| 2008 | — | — | 551 | #498 |
| 2007 | — | — | 584 | #467 |
| 2006 | — | — | 605 | #448 |
| 2005 | — | — | 595 | #441 |
| 2004 | 6 | #15,534 | 574 | #450 |
| 2003 | — | — | 612 | #422 |
| 2002 | — | — | 619 | #409 |
| 2001 | — | — | 615 | #407 |
| 2000 | — | — | 602 | #414 |
| 1999 | 5 | #16,136 | 605 | #402 |
| 1998 | — | — | 615 | #397 |
| 1997 | — | — | 619 | #387 |
| 1996 | — | — | 621 | #377 |
| 1995 | 6 | #12,879 | 681 | #356 |
| 1994 | 8 | #10,238 | 720 | #342 |
| 1993 | 6 | #12,938 | 761 | #333 |
| 1992 | 8 | #10,173 | 801 | #319 |
| 1991 | — | — | 810 | #318 |
| 1990 | 5 | #14,518 | 931 | #279 |
| 1989 | 8 | #9,377 | 856 | #287 |
| 1988 | 9 | #8,171 | 758 | #301 |
| 1987 | 5 | #12,631 | 712 | #302 |
| 1986 | 9 | #7,548 | 714 | #293 |
| 1985 | — | — | 706 | #290 |
| 1984 | 9 | #7,221 | 651 | #303 |
| 1983 | — | — | 630 | #312 |
| 1982 | 6 | #10,061 | 658 | #302 |
| 1981 | 6 | #9,973 | 640 | #302 |
| 1980 | 6 | #9,951 | 684 | #297 |
| 1979 | 6 | #9,803 | 670 | #297 |
| 1978 | 5 | #10,882 | 680 | #285 |
| 1977 | 11 | #5,770 | 670 | #292 |
| 1976 | 7 | #7,860 | 731 | #266 |
| 1975 | 5 | #10,083 | 690 | #277 |
| 1974 | 11 | #5,241 | 675 | #278 |
| 1973 | 7 | #7,186 | 580 | #303 |
| 1972 | 12 | #4,706 | 620 | #300 |
| 1971 | 8 | #6,415 | 775 | #273 |
| 1970 | 12 | #4,681 | 756 | #279 |
| 1969 | 5 | #8,289 | 764 | #270 |
| 1968 | 8 | #5,492 | 764 | #261 |
| 1967 | 7 | #5,872 | 789 | #255 |
| 1966 | 8 | #5,141 | 724 | #274 |
| 1965 | 5 | #7,220 | 815 | #259 |
| 1964 | — | — | 826 | #268 |
| 1963 | — | — | 982 | #246 |
| 1962 | 7 | #5,690 | 931 | #253 |
| 1961 | — | — | 951 | #254 |
| 1960 | 5 | #7,034 | 1,016 | #250 |
| 1959 | — | — | 1,084 | #244 |
| 1958 | 6 | #5,910 | 948 | #254 |
| 1957 | 7 | #5,235 | 942 | #250 |
| 1956 | 5 | #6,617 | 915 | #241 |
| 1955 | — | — | 914 | #235 |
| 1954 | 5 | #6,362 | 947 | #228 |
| 1953 | — | — | 1,012 | #214 |
| 1952 | — | — | 830 | #232 |
| 1951 | — | — | 802 | #240 |
| 1950 | — | — | 804 | #229 |
| 1949 | 5 | #5,808 | 782 | #232 |
| 1948 | — | — | 814 | #227 |
| 1947 | — | — | 814 | #224 |
| 1946 | — | — | 740 | #222 |
| 1945 | — | — | 696 | #206 |
| 1944 | 7 | #3,966 | 715 | #207 |
| 1943 | 6 | #4,552 | 794 | #203 |
| 1942 | 8 | #3,648 | 870 | #181 |
| 1941 | 5 | #4,881 | 791 | #186 |
| 1940 | — | — | 807 | #182 |
| 1939 | — | — | 801 | #178 |
| 1938 | — | — | 795 | #182 |
| 1937 | — | — | 661 | #194 |
| 1936 | 13 | #2,357 | 631 | #195 |
| 1935 | 6 | #4,094 | 578 | #209 |
| 1934 | 7 | #3,707 | 569 | #214 |
| 1933 | 6 | #4,095 | 572 | #205 |
| 1932 | 6 | #4,285 | 629 | #204 |
| 1931 | 6 | #4,209 | 607 | #209 |
| 1930 | 7 | #3,942 | 630 | #209 |
| 1929 | 6 | #4,438 | 590 | #215 |
| 1928 | — | — | 681 | #201 |
| 1927 | 13 | #2,659 | 673 | #206 |
| 1926 | 5 | #5,403 | 685 | #202 |
| 1925 | — | — | 738 | #186 |
| 1924 | 9 | #3,592 | 753 | #188 |
| 1923 | — | — | 704 | #195 |
| 1922 | 7 | #4,321 | 659 | #201 |
| 1921 | 8 | #3,925 | 704 | #194 |
| 1920 | 5 | #5,546 | 740 | #187 |
| 1919 | — | — | 682 | #187 |
| 1918 | 6 | #4,667 | 664 | #190 |
| 1917 | 5 | #5,104 | 605 | #194 |
| 1916 | — | — | 619 | #188 |
| 1915 | 5 | #4,773 | 606 | #184 |
| 1914 | — | — | 527 | #171 |
| 1913 | 5 | #3,557 | 357 | #188 |
| 1912 | — | — | 349 | #166 |
| 1911 | — | — | 180 | #175 |
| 1910 | — | — | 142 | #189 |
| 1909 | — | — | 113 | #194 |
| 1908 | — | — | 112 | #189 |
| 1907 | — | — | 129 | #168 |
| 1906 | — | — | 100 | #182 |
| 1905 | — | — | 126 | #160 |
| 1904 | — | — | 81 | #204 |
| 1903 | — | — | 93 | #179 |
| 1902 | — | — | 78 | #202 |
| 1901 | — | — | 97 | #159 |
| 1900 | — | — | 135 | #154 |
| 1899 | — | — | 107 | #147 |
| 1898 | — | — | 112 | #153 |
| 1897 | — | — | 104 | #150 |
| 1896 | — | — | 86 | #191 |
| 1895 | — | — | 108 | #143 |
| 1894 | — | — | 76 | #196 |
| 1893 | — | — | 72 | #200 |
| 1892 | — | — | 98 | #161 |
| 1891 | — | — | 86 | #155 |
| 1890 | — | — | 71 | #191 |
| 1889 | — | — | 80 | #170 |
| 1888 | — | — | 85 | #175 |
| 1887 | — | — | 62 | #195 |
| 1886 | — | — | 78 | #176 |
| 1885 | — | — | 83 | #160 |
| 1884 | — | — | 89 | #154 |
| 1883 | — | — | 79 | #161 |
| 1882 | — | — | 104 | #136 |
| 1881 | — | — | 90 | #138 |
| 1880 | — | — | 99 | #138 |
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).