Find out how popular the last name Nelson is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Nelson.

Nelson, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Nelson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nelson in America

Nelson is the 43rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nelson surname appeared 424,958 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 144 people would have the surname Nelson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nelson to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Nelson

The surname Nelson is an English surname that originated in the northern counties of England. It derives from the Old English words "Nēah" meaning "near" and "tūn" meaning "settlement" or "farmstead." Thus, Nelson essentially means "near the settlement" or "near the farmstead."

The name first appeared in records in the 13th century, with early spellings including Nellesone, Nelsone, and Nelstoun. One of the earliest recorded instances is in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, which mentions a John Nelsone. The name is also found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379, referring to a place called Nelstonsyre.

The Nelson surname is closely associated with several place names in northern England, such as Nelson in Lancashire, which was recorded as Neluesone in the Domesday Book of 1086. Other places include Nelson in Yorkshire and Nelson in Northumberland.

One of the most famous individuals with the Nelson surname was Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), the renowned British naval officer who played a pivotal role in the Napoleonic Wars, notably at the Battle of Trafalgar. Other notable Nelsons include the American revolutionary patriot Thomas Nelson Jr. (1738-1789), who served as the Governor of Virginia, and the English writer and clergyman Robert Nelson (1656-1715), known for his influential work "A Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England."

The Nelson surname has also been associated with several other historical figures, such as John Nelson (1660-1721), an English mathematician and author, and Thomas Nelson (1782-1853), an American publisher and entrepreneur who founded the publishing company Thomas Nelson & Sons.

It's worth mentioning that the surname Nelson has been found in various parts of the world due to migration and colonial expansion, but its origins can be traced back to the northern counties of England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nelson

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Nelson.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Nelson was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Nelson has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Nelson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Nelson, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!