How Many People Are Named Nelson?
An estimated 52,062 people in the United States have the first name Nelson. It is predominantly male (99.5%). The average bearer is 47 years old, and Nelson peaked in popularity in 1959 with 1,083 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Nelson 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 Nelson paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Nelson is overwhelmingly male, 431 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
52,062
About 1 in 6,584 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.5% confidence
Average Age
47
years old
Peak Year
1959
1,083 births
Total Registered
79,829
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Nelson
Nelson is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 79,829 total births registered, 99.5% were male.
Nelson as a male name
Ranked #778 in 2024
322 male births in 2024
Peak: 1959 (1,083 births)
Nelson as a female name
Ranked #14,653 in 2023
6 female births in 2023
Peak: 1927 (13 births)
Nelson: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Nelson span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 9,222 babies were registered. Nelson has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Nelson by Decade
How has Nelson 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 849 | 849 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 920 | 920 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 1,064 | 1,064 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 4,752 | 4,731 | 21 | |
| 1920s | 6,980 | 6,927 | 53 | |
| 1930s | 6,524 | 6,473 | 51 | |
| 1940s | 7,854 | 7,823 | 31 | |
| 1950s | 9,222 | 9,199 | 23 | |
| 1960s | 8,606 | 8,561 | 45 | |
| 1970s | 6,930 | 6,846 | 84 | |
| 1980s | 7,066 | 7,008 | 58 | |
| 1990s | 7,201 | 7,163 | 38 | |
| 2000s | 5,879 | 5,873 | 6 | |
| 2010s | 4,272 | 4,267 | 5 | |
| 2020s | 1,710 | 1,694 | 16 | |
Nelson by State
Birth registrations for Nelson span all 47 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, California, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in South Dakota, Alaska, Nebraska. On average, about 1,535 Nelsons were registered per state.
Nelson + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Nelson as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Nelson
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Nelson: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nelson?
We estimate approximately 52,062 people named Nelson 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 6,584 Americans share this first name.
Is Nelson a common name?
Nelson is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 79,829 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Nelson most popular?
Nelson reached peak popularity in 1959, when 1,083 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Nelson is approximately 47 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Nelson a male name?
Nelson is predominantly male. 99.5% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Nelson Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Nelson Smith, Nelson Johnson, Nelson 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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