Nelse
A name of Scandinavian origin possibly derived from Nils meaning "champion".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Nelse. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nelse today is around 85 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nelse births was 1913 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nelse. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Nelse is about 85 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Nelses were born before 1951.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nelse. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1913
6 babies that year
Average age
85
years old
1953 SSA rank
#4,189
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Nelse: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nelse from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Nelse remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nelse 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 Nelse during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nelse
The given name Nelse is of English origin, derived from the Old English name Ænelle, itself a diminutive form of the name Ænelm. The name Ænelm is composed of the elements "ān" meaning "one" and "helm" meaning "helmet" or "protection". It likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, around the 5th to 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Nelse can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a manuscript record of a great survey of landholding and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as a variant spelling, "Nelsi". This suggests that the name was already in use among the English population before the Norman conquest of 1066.
In the 12th century, a monk known as Nelse of Crowland is mentioned in the historical chronicles of the Benedictine abbey of Crowland in Lincolnshire. This provides evidence of the name's continued use in medieval England.
During the Renaissance period, a prominent figure bearing the name Nelse was Nelse Smedley (c. 1550-1612), an English playwright and actor who was a contemporary of William Shakespeare. Some of Smedley's works, such as the play "The Usurer's Daughter", were performed in London's early theaters.
In the 17th century, Nelse Coxe (1599-1651) was a notable English Puritan clergyman and theological writer. He was a prolific author, publishing works such as "A Discourse of the Covenants" and "Vindication of the Reformation".
Another historical figure with the name Nelse was Nelse Brocklesby (1637-1718), a wealthy English landowner and Member of Parliament for Lincolnshire. He was involved in the establishment of the Bank of England and served as a director of the bank in its early years.
While the name Nelse has fallen out of common use in modern times, its historical roots and appearances in various periods of English history highlight its enduring presence over several centuries.
People
Nelse + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nelse 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
Nelse: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nelse?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nelse 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Nelse a common name?
We classify Nelse as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 28 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nelse most popular?
The single biggest year for Nelse was 1913, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nelse is about 85 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Nelse in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nelse a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nelse in the SSA data are male. 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 Nelse still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nelse 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 Nelse 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Nelse?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Nelse at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.