How Many People Are Named Nelda?
An estimated 7,443 people in the United States have the first name Nelda. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 72 years old, and Nelda peaked in popularity in 1938 with 567 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Nelda as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Nelda paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 72, Nelda is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1964.
Estimated Living Americans
7,443
About 1 in 46,051 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
72
years old
Peak Year
1938
567 births
Total Registered
20,134
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Nelda
Nelda is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 20,134 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Nelda as a male name
Ranked #4,008 in 1935
5 male births in 1935
Peak: 1935 (5 births)
Nelda as a female name
Ranked #9,352 in 2024
11 female births in 2024
Peak: 1938 (567 births)
Nelda: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Nelda span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1930s, when 4,936 babies were registered. Nelda has declined significantly from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Nelda by Decade
How has Nelda tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Nelda by State
Birth registrations for Nelda span all 36 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama. The lowest are in New Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota. On average, about 469 Neldas were registered per state.
Nelda + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Nelda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Nelda
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Nelda: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nelda?
We estimate approximately 7,443 people named Nelda are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 46,051 Americans share this first name.
Is Nelda a common name?
Nelda is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97.3% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 20,134 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Nelda most popular?
Nelda reached peak popularity in 1938, when 567 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Nelda is approximately 72 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Nelda a female name?
Nelda is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Nelda Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Nelda Smith, Nelda Johnson, Nelda Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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