Nelle
A French feminine name meaning "bright one" or "shining light".
Name Census estimates that about 631 living Americans carry the first name Nelle. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nelle today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nelle births was 1917 (169 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nelle. 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
631
~ 1 in 543,192 Americans
Peak year
1917
169 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,090
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Nelle: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nelle from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 1,201 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nelle 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 Nelle during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nelles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Nelle, while Mississippi, Massachusetts, Iowa recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 71 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nelle
The name Nelle has its origins in the Italian language, derived from the Latin name Nigella, which means "little black one." The name first appeared in medieval Italy around the 12th century.
In Italy, the name Nelle was often used as a diminutive form of Nigella, and it eventually became a standalone name. The name was particularly popular in regions such as Tuscany and Umbria, where it was commonly used by both noble and common families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nelle can be found in the writings of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), who mentioned a character named Nella in his famous work, the Divine Comedy.
In the 14th century, Nelle Signorini (1330-1401) was a prominent Italian painter and sculptor from Siena, known for her religious artwork and frescoes adorning churches in her hometown.
During the Renaissance period, Nelle di Berto (1445-1520) was a renowned Florentine artist and architect who contributed to the design of several notable buildings, including the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.
In the 16th century, Nelle Malatesta (1515-1589) was a noblewoman from the powerful Malatesta family in Rimini, known for her patronage of the arts and her support of the Italian Renaissance.
Another notable figure was Nelle Visconti (1564-1635), a member of the influential Visconti family in Milan. She was a devout Catholic and played a significant role in the founding of several religious institutions and convents in the city.
Throughout the centuries, the name Nelle continued to be used in Italy, although it became less common over time. It remained more prevalent in certain regions, particularly in central and northern Italy, where it maintained its historical and cultural significance.
People
Nelle + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nelle 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
Nelle: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nelle?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 631 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nelle 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 543,192 US residents.
Is Nelle a common name?
We classify Nelle as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,761 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nelle most popular?
The single biggest year for Nelle was 1917, when 169 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nelle is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nelle a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nelle 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.