Nelly

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

⭐ Famous Nelly

Nelly Sachs

Jewish German poet and playwright (1891-1970)

Choose Nelly and your child shares a first name with Nelly Sachs, a Jewish German poet and playwright. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Nelly, like who?” Nelly Sachs's Wikipedia article is available in 108 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Nelly Sachs on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Nobel Foundation, Public domain (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 9,294 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Nelly, 173 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Nelly would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryNelly first shows up in US birth records in 1882, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 143 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1882, when it reached #596.
• 🚀TrendNelly has climbed 732 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #1,291. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedNelly is most popular in Wisconsin, where it ranks #700, followed by Kentucky (#744) and Minnesota (#835). It's in the top 1,000 in 5 states.

About the name Nelly

Nelly is a girl name of English and Greek origin. It has 5 letters and 2 syllables, starting with N and ending in “-lly”. US birth records list Nelly for girls from 1882 to 2025, in 135 of those 144 years. Its best year was 1882, when it ranked #596 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #1,291, with 173 babies.

Origin:English namesGreek names