Nelli
A diminutive form of the feminine names Helen or Eleanor, originating from Greek.
Name Census estimates that about 356 living Americans carry the first name Nelli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nelli today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nelli births was 2021 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nelli. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nelli with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
356
~ 1 in 962,793 Americans
Peak year
2021
25 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,310
Tracked since 1977
Census
Nelli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,681 people with the first name Nelli, which placed it at #8,597 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#8,597
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,681 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nelli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nelli is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Nelli described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Nelli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.3% · 1,300
- Hispanic or Latino17.0% · 285
- Two or more races2.3% · 38
- Black or African American1.8% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Popularity
Nelli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nelli from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 126 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nelli 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 Nelli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nellis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nelli
The given name Nelli has its origins in various cultures and linguistic traditions, reflecting a rich tapestry of meanings and associations. The name is believed to have emerged from the Scandinavian languages, specifically the Old Norse root "Nell" or "Niel," which signifies "cloud" or "dark cloud." This connection to natural phenomena aligns with the reverence for nature in ancient Norse mythology and folklore.
Another proposed origin traces Nelli to the Germanic name "Nellie," derived from the root "Nell," meaning "valley" or "ravine." This interpretation evokes a sense of tranquility and serenity, resonating with the pastoral landscapes of Germanic regions. The name's evolution can also be traced to the Old English "Nell," which carried the meaning of "little" or "small," potentially reflecting affectionate diminutives.
In the annals of history, the name Nelli has been associated with various notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded instances is Nelli of Treviso, an Italian painter and nun who lived from 1456 to 1542. Her artistic contributions, particularly her frescos in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Treviso, have earned her recognition as one of the first female Renaissance painters.
Another remarkable figure bearing the name Nelli was Nelli Sachs, a German-Swedish writer and poet who lived from 1891 to 1970. Her works explored themes of exile, loss, and the human condition, earning her the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966 for her "outstanding lyrical and dramatic writing, which interprets Israel's destiny with touching strength."
In the realm of music, Nelli Shkolnikova, a Russian-born American pianist and composer (1904-1962), left an indelible mark with her virtuosic performances and compositions that blended classical and contemporary styles. Her works, including the "Concertino for Piano and Orchestra" and "Piano Sonata No. 1," continue to be celebrated by musicians and audiences alike.
The literary world also boasts notable figures bearing the name Nelli, such as Nelli Zander (1884-1953), a Swedish author and journalist known for her novels exploring social issues and women's experiences. Her works, including "Förlorad Jord" (Lost Soil) and "Bränd Jord" (Burned Soil), garnered critical acclaim and contributed to the Swedish literary canon.
Furthermore, the name Nelli has graced the pages of history through the achievements of Nelli Aruzhin (1900-1952), a Soviet military pilot and navigator. During World War II, she served as a navigator in the renowned Night Witches, an all-female aviation regiment that conducted daring bombing raids against Nazi forces, earning her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
People
Nelli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nelli 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
Nelli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nelli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 356 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nelli 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 962,793 US residents.
Is Nelli a common name?
We classify Nelli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 360 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nelli most popular?
The single biggest year for Nelli was 2021, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nelli is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nelli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,681 people with the name Nelli, or 0.56 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,597 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Nelli in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Nelli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nelli leans strongly female. 1,656 people counted with this name were female (98.6%), compared with 23 male bearers (1.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Nelli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nelli is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.0%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Nelli most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nelli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.3% (1,300 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Nelli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nelli a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nelli 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.
Is Nelli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nelli in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Nelli can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have the name Nelli?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.