Feminine dossier · first seen 1880
Nelle
Stable
Cross-generational persistence
Peak era
1917
Peak births
169
Current vitality
Rare
Peak generation
Greatest Generation
Quick answers about Nelle
How many people are named Nelle?
An estimated 562 living Americans are named Nelle.
How rare is Nelle?
Nelle is very rare among babies today, with 33 girls receiving the name in 2025, down 80.5% from its 1917 peak.
How old is the typical Nelle?
The median age of a living American named Nelle is approximately 11 years, with most bearers falling between 5 and 63 years old.
Is Nelle still popular?
Yes. Nelle is holding steady, with 33 births in 2025 and a consistent recent baseline.
Where is Nelle most common?
Nelle has its strongest geographic signal in Tennessee, where it appears 7.1× more often than the national baseline.
1880Peak 19172025
Peak year
1917
Decline from peak
80.5%
2025
33
All-time
5,794
Where it lives now
Nelle is most concentrated in Tennessee — about 6.5× the national rate in the 1920s. It also runs high in Georgia.
States where Nelle is given more often than the national average — its present-day heartland.