Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Nelson?
Births per year, rank history and how many Nelsons are alive today.
Nelson (male) is a rare boys' name in England and Wales, ranked 1406th in 2025 and given to 19 babies. The name peaked in 2012, when 40 babies were given the name, the 793rd most popular that year. It has declined since 2012; the 2025 figure is roughly 48% of its peak.
The Nelson you are most likely to meet is around 13 years old. Half of all Nelsons born in England and Wales are between 9 and 25, and there are at least 870 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's less than a 1% chance that anyone will be called Nelson - on average, only one in every 349 such rooms contains a Nelson.
How many babies are named Nelson each year?
Where does Nelson rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Nelson most popular?
Nelson peaked in 2012, when 40 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Nelson?
At least 870 people named Nelson born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Nelson?
Most living Nelsons are between 9 and 25; the most common age is about 13.
Is Nelson becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 2012 peak.