Nellie

Did you know?

A few things about Nellie you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Nellie

Nellie Bly

American journalist

Choose Nellie and your child shares a first name with Nellie Bly, an American journalist. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Nellie, like who?” Nellie Bly's Wikipedia article is available in 70 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Nellie Bly on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: H. J. Myers, photographer, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 2,834 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Nellie, 567 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Nellie would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryNellie has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Nellies, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1881, when it ranked #14. Today it's #533, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📈Then vs nowNellie is 9.4× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 26,738 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 2,834.
• 🚀TrendNellie has climbed 307 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #533. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedNellie is most popular in Maine, where it ranks #176, followed by Iowa (#186) and North Dakota (#195). It's in the top 1,000 in 34 states.

About the name Nellie

Nellie is a girl name of English, French and Greek origin. It has 6 letters and 2 syllables, starting with N and ending in “-lie”. US birth records list Nellie for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1881, when it ranked #14 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #533, with 567 babies.

Origin:English namesFrench namesGreek namesLatin names