Nels Boy
How popular is Nels?
#4,538 boy name in 2025
22 baby boys were named Nels in the US in 2025, making it the 4538th most popular boy name.
1,840living people named Nels (est.)
53median age of people named Nels
3,841babies named Nels since 1880
1 in 150,697US babies born in 2025
Nels popularity over time
| Rank in 2025 | #4,538 for boys (▲ 699 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 22 boys |
| 10-year trend | Rising fast (+57% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #5,995 in 2015, #5,447 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 1918 (65 boys) |
| Highest rank | #306 in 1884 |
| First recorded | 1880 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 100% boys, 0% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 0.0% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Where Nels is most popular
Babies named Nels per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
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- Minnesota: 0.2 per 1,000 (29 boys)
Nels by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 210 | #306 |
| 1890s | 192 | #307 |
| 1900s | 111 | #582 |
| 1910s | 402 | #745 |
| 1920s | 398 | #964 |
| 1930s | 317 | #1,013 |
| 1940s | 349 | #1,003 |
| 1950s | 454 | #1,010 |
| 1960s | 343 | #1,155 |
| 1970s | 276 | #1,469 |
| 1980s | 264 | #1,449 |
| 1990s | 152 | #2,774 |
| 2000s | 119 | #5,034 |
| 2010s | 137 | #4,534 |
| 2020s | 117 | #4,358 |
Boy names about as popular as Nels
Questions
- Is Nels a boy or girl name?
- Nels is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 100% of babies named Nels were boys.
- How popular is the name Nels?
- 22 baby boys were named Nels in the US in 2025, making it the 4538th most popular boy name.
- When was Nels most popular?
- Nels peaked in 1918, when 65 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #306 in 1884.
- How many people are named Nels?
- 3,841 babies have been named Nels in the US since 1880. We estimate about 1,840 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 53.
- Where is Nels most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Nels was most common in Minnesota, at 0.2 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.