Nels
Nels is outside the top 1,000 in 2024, with 18 births. Its best rank was 309th, in 1884.
- Rank in 2024
- —outside the top 1,000
- Births in 2024
- 180.00% of boys
- Peak year
- 191865 births
- Best rank
- #309in 1884
- Since 1880
- 3,819people given the name
The story in the numbers
3,819 boys have been named Nels in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1918, with 65 births.
The name has all but left use: 18 births in 2024, against 65 at the peak.
Half of everyone given the name was born by 1948, and the 1950s alone account for 12%. It has spent 37 of 145 years in the top 1,000.
Rank among boys, year by year
By decade
| Decade | boys named Nels | |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 210 | |
| 1890s | 192 | |
| 1900s | 111 | |
| 1910s | 402 | |
| 1920s | 398 | |
| 1930s | 317 | |
| 1940s | 349 | |
| 1950s | 454 | |
| 1960s | 343 | |
| 1970s | 276 | |
| 1980s | 264 | |
| 1990s | 152 | |
| 2000s | 119 | |
| 2010s | 137 | |
| 2020s | 95 |
In 1918, its biggest year
Nels was the 813th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1918 were John, William, James, Robert and Charles. See all of 1918.
Names that rose and fell with Nels
Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.
- Christpeak 1923
- Generalpeak 1918
- Alvahpeak 1916
- Benjimanpeak 1921
- Webbpeak 1927
- Elzapeak 1922
- Ernstpeak 1917
- Clempeak 1917
What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.