Nelson

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Nelson: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Nelson: Recorded every year since 1996, it reached #375 in 2003, and it stood at #1,402 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
37times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#375highest recorded position
7groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#853
1997	#589
1998	#887
1999	#948
2000	#881
2001	#910
2002	#950
2003	#1132
2004	#1222
2005	#1014
2006	#939
2007	#952
2008	#803
2009	#904
2010	#1144
2011	#929
2012	#793
2013	#882
2014	#837
2015	#1159
2016	#801
2017	#931
2018	#958
2019	#856
2020	#1019
2021	#1139
2022	#1104
2023	#1139
2024	#1402

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in every year from 1996 to 2024.

In 2017: #710 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #931 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #853 among boys in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Highest recorded2003–2017
Highest recorded position: #375 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2003 (recorded 2003–2017).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #1402 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Nelson appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, which has ranked it in 29 years beginning in 1996, and has registered 744 births with the name.

Nelson across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Nelson's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Boys	#853 (1996)	#589 (1997)	#1402 (2024)	29 of 29	744 (1996–2024)	40 (2012)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#375 (2003)	#375 (2003)	#710 (2017)	8 of 15	30 (2003–2017)	5 (2003)

Nelson by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Nelson in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	79	4 of 10	20
2000s	221	10 of 10	22
2010sbusiest	324	10 of 10	32
2020s	120	5 of 10	24

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 32 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Nelson appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #375 in Republic of Ireland in 2003.

Nelson's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#1402	19	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#1139	25	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#1104	25	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#1139	24	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1019	27	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#856	35	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#958	30	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#931	33	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#801	40	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#1159	23	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#837	36	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#882	33	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#793	40	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#929	31	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1144	23	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#904	30	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#803	35	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#952	26	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#939	25	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1014	21	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1222	15	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1132	15	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#950	18	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#910	18	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#881	18	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#948	16	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#887	17	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#589	29	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#853	17	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#710	3	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#711	3	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#730	3	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#601	4	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#493	4	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#518	3	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#390	5	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#375	5	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 29 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #375, first reached in 2003.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 40 births, registered in England and Wales in 2012.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2003, and 7 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Nellie-Rose · #1618, 12y
Nelly · #132, 61y
Neo · #206, 26y
Nerea · #3148, 14y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Nabil · #375, 29y
Tai · #375, 29y
Clarice · #374, 29y
Ellie-Mai · #376, 29y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Aden · #375, 29y
Anisah · #375, 27y
Bryson · #375, 25y
Izaac · #375, 29y

Nelson was ranked #375 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 2003. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Nelson and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Nelson without appearing here.

Nelson moved ahead of

Graham Compare
In 2005 they stood at #1014 and #954 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2006 that had become #939 and #1892.
Geoffrey Compare
In 2004 they stood at #1222 and #1160 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2005 that had become #1014 and #1851.
Ashleigh Compare
In 2000 they stood at #881 and #881 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2001 that had become #910 and #1595.
Barry Compare
In 2004 they stood at #1222 and #815 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2005 that had become #1014 and #1617.

Moved ahead of Nelson

Lachlan Compare
In 1997 they stood at #589 and #678 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1998 that had become #887 and #351.
Cooper Compare
In 2003 they stood at #1132 and #1248 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2004 that had become #1222 and #731.
Kasper Compare
In 2009 they stood at #904 and #944 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2010 that had become #1144 and #668.
Oskar Compare
In 1997 they stood at #589 and #759 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1998 that had become #887 and #502.

Moved the opposite way to Nelson

Albie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Nelson went from #853 to #1402 while Albie went from #853 to #19.
Alfie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Nelson went from #853 to #1402 while Alfie went from #119 to #16.
Alfred Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Nelson went from #853 to #1402 while Alfred went from #218 to #81.
Archie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Nelson went from #853 to #1402 while Archie went from #192 to #10.

Moved the same way as Nelson

Aaron Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Nelson went from #853 to #1402 and Aaron from #33 to #154.
Adam Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Nelson went from #853 to #1402 and Adam from #16 to #35.
Alan Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Nelson went from #853 to #1402 and Alan from #163 to #592.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Nelson went from #853 to #1402 and Alex from #43 to #171.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #375 in Republic of Ireland in 2003. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Nelson

Nelson at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Nelson across 2 official records

Nelson by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Nelson appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Nelson

Nelson and the names beside it

Nelson moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Nelson

Moved the opposite way to Nelson

Moved the same way as Nelson

Nelson at a glance

Nelson across 2 official records

Nelson by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Nelson appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Nelson

Nelson and the names beside it

Nelson moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Nelson

Moved the opposite way to Nelson

Moved the same way as Nelson