Loading your next page…
A name. A world of connections.
A name with a story to discover
/\nɛl\/ · French
01 / Meaning & origin
Nelle is a feminine given name documented in English, French, Polish and 2 other languages. English Wiktionary records an etymology for it.
From Ellen spelled backwards. Popularized by author Harper Lee, whose first name Nelle was so derived from her grandmother’s.
02 / Across borders
Explore official naming statistics and documented language connections around the world.
The name atlas
16
countries in our sources
Select a country to follow Nelle’s connections around the world.
5 countries with official statistics. Language records show cultural connections; they do not measure how common a name is.
Selected country
Statistics + language records
United States, 2025: 33 girls (rank 4265). Documented as a given name in English.
Explore United States4 of 16 countries
03 / By the numbers
Follow the spelling through the years, one published dataset at a time.
1880–2025 Spelling: Nelle
Recorded category girls
Hover to explore a year. Use arrow keys when a chart point has focus.
Source: US Social Security Administration; redistributed by nkrishnaswami · SSA national baby names, 1880–2025 (CC0 redistribution)
Integer application counts retained without rounding.
Per million is unavailable: this source has no matching published total.
| Year | Applications | Rank | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 65 | 186 | observed |
| 1881 | 72 | 177 | observed |
| 1882 | 59 | 225 | observed |
| 1883 | 76 | 194 | observed |
| 1884 | 92 | 193 | observed |
| 1885 | 109 | 175 | observed |
| 1886 | 98 | 198 | observed |
| 1887 | 100 | 203 | observed |
| 1888 | 105 | 225 | observed |
| 1889 | 119 | 211 | observed |
| 1890 | 143 | 198 | observed |
| 1891 | 122 | 217 | observed |
| 1892 | 133 | 224 | observed |
| 1893 | 120 | 239 | observed |
| 1894 | 113 | 257 | observed |
| 1895 | 112 | 263 | observed |
| 1896 | 89 | 308 | observed |
| 1897 | 97 | 290 | observed |
| 1898 | 109 | 297 | observed |
| 1899 | 87 | 321 | observed |
| 1900 | 91 | 352 | observed |
| 1901 | 77 | 347 | observed |
| 1902 | 82 | 351 | observed |
| 1903 | 53 | 435 | observed |
| 1904 | 66 | 398 | observed |
| 1905 | 85 | 367 | observed |
| 1906 | 82 | 376 | observed |
| 1907 | 72 | 418 | observed |
| 1908 | 52 | 503 | observed |
| 1909 | 75 | 426 | observed |
| 1910 | 65 | 503 | observed |
| 1911 | 78 | 463 | observed |
| 1912 | 100 | 478 | observed |
| 1913 | 105 | 497 | observed |
| 1914 | 127 | 494 | observed |
| 1915 | 139 | 537 | observed |
| 1916 | 141 | 565 | observed |
| 1917 | 169 | 510 | observed |
| 1918 | 152 | 578 | observed |
| 1919 | 125 | 626 | observed |
| 1920 | 128 | 636 | observed |
| 1921 | 135 | 636 | observed |
| 1922 | 94 | 754 | observed |
| 1923 | 106 | 708 | observed |
| 1924 | 99 | 744 | observed |
| 1925 | 84 | 806 | observed |
| 1926 | 68 | 903 | observed |
| 1927 | 66 | 917 | observed |
| 1928 | 42 | 1,179 | observed |
| 1929 | 46 | 1,078 | observed |
| 1930 | 45 | 1,101 | observed |
| 1931 | 33 | 1,258 | observed |
| 1932 | 35 | 1,213 | observed |
| 1933 | 27 | 1,400 | observed |
| 1934 | 26 | 1,440 | observed |
| 1935 | 22 | 1,606 | observed |
| 1936 | 28 | 1,375 | observed |
| 1937 | 20 | 1,735 | observed |
| 1938 | 20 | 1,752 | observed |
| 1939 | 26 | 1,474 | observed |
| 1940 | 13 | 2,297 | observed |
| 1941 | 11 | 2,668 | observed |
| 1942 | 19 | 1,981 | observed |
| 1943 | 18 | 2,079 | observed |
| 1944 | 14 | 2,401 | observed |
| 1945 | 17 | 2,060 | observed |
| 1946 | 16 | 2,392 | observed |
| 1947 | 11 | 3,240 | observed |
| 1948 | 10 | 3,350 | observed |
| 1949 | 11 | 3,176 | observed |
| 1950 | 8 | 3,962 | observed |
| 1951 | 9 | 3,714 | observed |
| 1952 | 11 | 3,372 | observed |
| 1953 | 13 | 3,106 | observed |
| 1954 | 13 | 3,157 | observed |
| 1955 | 11 | 3,571 | observed |
| 1956 | 5 | 5,952 | observed |
| 1957 | 9 | 4,202 | observed |
| 1958 | 6 | 5,408 | observed |
| 1959 | 6 | 5,566 | observed |
| 1960 | 7 | 5,168 | observed |
| 1961 | 8 | 4,882 | observed |
| 1962 | 7 | 5,293 | observed |
| 1963 | 5 | 6,592 | observed |
| 1964 | 5 | 6,767 | observed |
| 1965 | 5 | 6,539 | observed |
| 1966 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1967 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1968 | 10 | 4,489 | observed |
| 1969 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1970 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1971 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1972 | 6 | 7,292 | observed |
| 1973 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1974 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1975 | 6 | 7,984 | observed |
| 1976 | 5 | 9,284 | observed |
| 1977 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1978 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1979 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1980 | 5 | 10,392 | observed |
| 1981 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1982 | 5 | 10,517 | observed |
| 1983 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1984 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1985 | 5 | 10,677 | observed |
| 1986 | 7 | 8,523 | observed |
| 1987 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1988 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1989 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1990 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1991 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1992 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1993 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1994 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1995 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1996 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1997 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1998 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1999 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 2000 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 2001 | 7 | 12,056 | observed |
| 2002 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 2003 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 2004 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 2005 | 6 | 14,502 | observed |
| 2006 | 8 | 12,420 | observed |
| 2007 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 2008 | 7 | 13,832 | observed |
| 2009 | 7 | 13,704 | observed |
| 2010 | 7 | 13,448 | observed |
| 2011 | 5 | 16,764 | observed |
| 2012 | 12 | 9,109 | observed |
| 2013 | 7 | 13,150 | observed |
| 2014 | 10 | 10,129 | observed |
| 2015 | 18 | 6,721 | observed |
| 2016 | 17 | 6,901 | observed |
| 2017 | 15 | 7,442 | observed |
| 2018 | 28 | 4,768 | observed |
| 2019 | 32 | 4,343 | observed |
| 2020 | 37 | 3,841 | observed |
| 2021 | 29 | 4,607 | observed |
| 2022 | 26 | 5,028 | observed |
| 2023 | 34 | 4,191 | observed |
| 2024 | 26 | 5,021 | observed |
| 2025 | 33 | 4,265 | observed |
Statistics count the spelling “Nelle” as recorded by the publisher. When a spelling has several independent origins, the counts are not split between them. Counts measure applications. Gaps are years without a published value, not zeros.
Rates per million are unavailable for this series because no compatible denominator has been imported.
Retrieved 2026-10-15 · CC0-1.0
Read our methodology04 / Through time
Passages quoted verbatim from public-domain reference works. They reflect the scholarship of their time, not current consensus, and may use obsolete spellings.
Nelle— “horn (?)”
…The centurion of the _Italian_ band was probably a hereditary Roman Cornelius; but earliest gentile Christian though he were, he was not canonized, and the saint of the Western Church is a martyred Pope Cornelius of the third century, whose relics were brought to Compiègne by Charles the Bald, and placed in the Abbey of St. Corneille, whence again a portion was carried to the Chapter of Rosnay, in Flanders. This translation accounts for the popularity of both the masculine…
…The centurion of the _Italian_ band was probably a hereditary Roman Cornelius; but earliest gentile Christian though he were, he was not canonized, and the saint of the Western Church is a martyred Pope Cornelius of the third century, whose relics were brought to Compiègne by Charles the Bald, and placed in the Abbey of St. Corneille, whence again a portion was carried to the Chapter of Rosnay, in Flanders. This translation accounts for the popularity of both the masculine and feminine forms in the Low Countries, in both kingdoms of which they constantly are found, and where Cornelius gets shortened into Kees, Knelis, Nöll, or Nelle, and Cornelia into Keetje, or Kee. As an attempt to translate the native Keltic names beginning with _cu_, or _con_, Cornelius, or Corney, is one of the most frequent Irish designations. Nelleson is the Dutch surname, and Nelson is as likely to be thus derived as from the northern Nielson. The Dantzic contraction is Knelz, and the Illyrians call the feminine Drenka!
Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884), Part IV, Chapter III (Nomina), Section VII (Cornelius, &c) · Public domain (Project Gutenberg)
Nelle— “stone”
_Nelle_, _f._ _Ger._ Gr. stone, 108
Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884), Glossary of Christian Names · Public domain (Project Gutenberg)
A little story to keep
Take the story of Nelle with you. Create a personal name passport with its meaning, roots and connections.
06 / Behind the facts
Review status: Source-reported — no editorial review recorded yet. Last data change 2026-10-15.
SSA national baby names, 1880–2025 (CC0 redistribution)
US Social Security Administration; redistributed by nkrishnaswami · CC0-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Fichier des prénoms — édition 2026 (naissances 1900 à 2025), fichier national
Insee (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques) · LO-2.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14
Finland — first given names of living Finnish citizens in Finland or abroad, 2026-08-03
Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Baby names in England and Wales: 2025 (boys and girls workbooks, Table 6: all published names)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) · OGL-UK-3.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14
Imiona nadawane dzieciom w Polsce — first given names of children, PESEL register, 2000-2025 (national)
Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji (Ministry of Digital Affairs), Poland — PESEL register; published on dane.gov.pl · CC0-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
NISRA — First Forenames Given to Babies Registered in Northern Ireland, 1997-2025 (full list)
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) · OGL-UK-3.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Wiktionary text: CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata: CC0. Commons recordings retain their individual file licences. Complete attribution is available in each group above and alongside each chart.
