Nellie
An English pet form that attached to Helen, Ellen and Eleanor, growing out of the medieval habit of adding an n to a shortened name.
Nellie in 2025
Nellie was given to 567 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 1,072nd most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 5,847 babies born.
The history of Nellie
Nellie reached its highest point in 1918, when 4,057 babies were given the name, ranking 115th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 30th, in 1881.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 153,284 babies have been named Nellie. Half of them were born before 1919, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Greatest Generation.
Nellie by decade
| Decade | Babies named Nellie | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 13,826 | 30 |
| 1890s | 17,372 | 33 |
| 1900s | 16,394 | 55 |
| 1910s | 30,968 | 70 |
| 1920s | 29,817 | 128 |
| 1930s | 17,835 | 205 |
| 1940s | 10,244 | 301 |
| 1950s | 5,360 | 518 |
| 1960s | 2,409 | 907 |
| 1970s | 1,479 | 1,467 |
| 1980s | 1,112 | 1,739 |
| 1990s | 838 | 2,260 |
| 2000s | 971 | 3,079 |
| 2010s | 1,859 | 1,608 |
| 2020s | 2,800 | 1,035 |
Where Nellie is heading
Nellie has risen 188% over the past decade, from 197 babies in 2015 to 567 in 2025.
Names like Nellie
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Nellie.