Nelly has been given to about 7,871 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 2007, which makes it a millennial-parent name.
Its best year was 2007, when 213 babies were given the name, ranking 1209th. The typical living American called Nelly is about 24 years old today. It is relatively most common in Wisconsin, where it accounts for 0.01% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.