as a Last Name
- 467,245
- people in the U.S. have this name Get contact details for people named Nelson
Meaning & Origins
English and Scottish: patronymic from the medieval personal name Nel or Neal, Anglo-Scandinavian forms of the Gaelic name Niall (see Neill). This was adopted by the Scandinavians in the form Njal and was introduced into northern England and East Anglia by them, rather than being taken directly from Gaelic.
| 38th in the U.S. for 2011 |
Nicknames & variations
Quick facts
- Hundreds of thousands
- of people in the U.S have this name
- 467,245
- to be exact (as of February 2011)
- Minnesota
- has the most people named Nelson per capita
Top state populations
U.S. Distribution Map