Nelida
A feminine name of Spanish origin, possibly meaning "born again" or "reborn".
Name Census estimates that about 1,330 living Americans carry the first name Nelida. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nelida today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nelida births was 1964 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nelida. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 257,710 Americans
Peak year
1964
42 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,818
Tracked since 1933
Popularity
Nelida: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nelida from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 337 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nelida by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Nelida during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nelidas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, California, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Nelida, while Connecticut, Texas, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 120 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nelida
Nelida is a feminine given name of Spanish origin. It is derived from the Latin word "nellus," which means "blue-colored." The name likely originated in Spain during the medieval period, when the use of color-based names was popular.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Nelida can be traced back to the 13th century. In 1265, a woman named Nelida de Aragon was mentioned in a Spanish historical document as a member of the Aragonese nobility.
Throughout history, the name Nelida has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Nelida de Villena (1322-1391), a Spanish poet and writer who was renowned for her works on medieval literature and philosophy.
In the 16th century, Nelida de Mendoza (1508-1580) was a prominent figure in the Spanish court. She served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Isabella of Portugal and was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of the Erasmian movement in Spain.
Another notable Nelida was Nelida Montes de Oca (1856-1932), a Mexican poet and educator. She was a pioneer in the field of women's education in Mexico and founded several schools for girls during her lifetime.
Nelida Arregui de Mannarelli (1891-1975) was a Peruvian writer and feminist activist. She was a vocal advocate for women's rights and played a significant role in the suffrage movement in Peru in the early 20th century.
In more recent times, Nelida Karr (1935-2003) was a renowned Argentine artist and sculptor. Her works, which often explored themes of femininity and nature, have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world.
While the name Nelida has Spanish roots, it has also been adopted in other cultures and languages over time. However, its origin and meaning remain firmly tied to its Latin and Spanish heritage, reflecting the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of the regions where it first emerged.
People
Nelida + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nelida as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nelida: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nelida?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,330 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nelida going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 257,710 US residents.
Is Nelida a common name?
We classify Nelida as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,520 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nelida most popular?
The single biggest year for Nelida was 1964, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nelida is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nelida a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nelida in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.