Nellie
Girl nameNellie has been given to 153,284 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1918 and currently ranks #533 for girls (2025).
Meaning & origin
Suffixed with -ie, compare Noll and Neddie, respectively from Oliver and Edward.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
153,284
Peak year
1918 (4,057 babies)
Rank in 2025
#533 for girls
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▲ +188%
Gender split
100% girls / 0% boys
Famous people named Nellie
Nellie Bly
American journalist
Nellie Melba
Australian opera singer (1861–1931)
Helen Herron Taft
First Lady of the United States from 1909 to 1913
Nellie Tayloe Ross
First woman state governor in the U.S.
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Nellie.
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