Is Nels a boy or girl name?

Nels is a boy’s name. Of the 3,841 Americans recorded with the name since 1880, 0.0% were girls and 100.0% were boys.

Nels

Recorded 1880–2025 · United States

Nels was most popular in 1918, when 65 American babies were given the name — ranking #1,653 that year. In 2025 it ranked #9,648, with 22 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 3,841 people named Nels.

Nels over time

Births per year. The dot marks Nels’s peak in 1918. Gaps are years the SSA suppressed, which it does for any name given to fewer than five babies.

Is Nels a boy’s or a girl’s name?

Across the whole record Nels is a boy’s name — 0.0% of the 3,841 Americans given it were girls and 100.0% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 0% girls and 100% boys.

Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.

Names that peaked alongside Nels

Where Nels is most concentrated

How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.

Explore further

See Nels on the interactive charts

Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org