Nelson has been given to about 80,140 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1959, which makes it a midcentury name.
Nelson ranks 825th among American boys in 2025, with 300 born that year. Its best year was 1959, when 1,084 babies were given the name, ranking 244th. The typical living American called Nelson is about 50 years old today. It is relatively most common in Maryland, where it accounts for 0.03% 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.