How Many People Are Named Nelva?
An estimated 305 people in the United States have the first name Nelva. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 76 years old, and Nelva peaked in popularity in 1935 with 44 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Nelva 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 Nelva paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 76, Nelva is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1960.
Estimated Living Americans
305
About 1 in 1,123,785 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
76
years old
Peak Year
1935
44 births
Total Registered
1,139
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Nelva
Nelva is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 1,139 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Nelva as a female name
Ranked #7,062 in 1976
8 female births in 1976
Peak: 1935 (44 births)
Nelva: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Nelva span from the 1880s to the 1970s, covering 9 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1930s, when 328 babies were registered. Nelva has declined significantly from its peak in the 1930s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Nelva by Decade
How has Nelva 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.
Nelva by State
Birth registrations for Nelva span all 4 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana. The lowest are in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kentucky. On average, about 45 Nelvas were registered per state.
Nelva + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Nelva as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Nelva
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Nelva: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nelva?
We estimate approximately 305 people named Nelva 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 1,123,785 Americans share this first name.
Is Nelva a common name?
Nelva is classified as "Very Rare" and is more popular than 79.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 1,139 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Nelva most popular?
Nelva reached peak popularity in 1935, when 44 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Nelva is approximately 76 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Nelva a female name?
Nelva is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Nelva Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Nelva Smith, Nelva Johnson, Nelva 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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