How Many People Are Named Nelma?
An estimated 208 people in the United States have the first name Nelma. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 82 years old, and Nelma peaked in popularity in 1926 with 50 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Nelma 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 Nelma paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 82, Nelma is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1954.
Estimated Living Americans
208
About 1 in 1,647,857 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
82
years old
Peak Year
1926
50 births
Total Registered
1,229
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Nelma
Nelma is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 1,229 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Nelma as a female name
Ranked #5,543 in 1960
7 female births in 1960
Peak: 1926 (50 births)
Nelma: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Nelma span from the 1900s to the 1960s, covering 7 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 415 babies were registered. Nelma has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Nelma by Decade
How has Nelma 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.
Nelma by State
Birth registrations for Nelma span all 12 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, West Virginia, Alabama. The lowest are in Oklahoma, Ohio, North Carolina. On average, about 18 Nelmas were registered per state.
Nelma + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Nelma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Nelma
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Nelma: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nelma?
We estimate approximately 208 people named Nelma 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 1,647,857 Americans share this first name.
Is Nelma a common name?
Nelma is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 74.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 1,229 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Nelma most popular?
Nelma reached peak popularity in 1926, when 50 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Nelma is approximately 82 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Nelma a female name?
Nelma is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Nelma Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Nelma Smith, Nelma Johnson, Nelma 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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