Nel
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- NEL
- Origin
- English
- UK rank, 2025
- #865 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #13,203 for girls
Nel is a girls' name of English origin. In 2025 it ranked 865th for girls in the UK (44 babies) and 13,203rd for girls in the US (6 babies).
What does Nel mean?
English: spelling of Nell; also a Dutch short form of Cornelia and Petronella
A short spelling of Nell, the old pet form of Eleanor, Ellen and Helen.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Nel a girl's or a boy's name?
Nel is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 44 girls in the UK and 6 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Nel in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 865th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 44 about 1 in 6,300 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 5% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 44 girls in the UK were named Nel, making it the 865th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 910th. Its busiest year was 2017, with 52 girls.
Half of all the girls named Nel in the UK since 1996 were born between 2011 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 176 girls in the UK were given Nel or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #287, up from #865 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 894th in England and Wales and 539th in Scotland.
Nel in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 44 | #865 |
| 2024 | 47 | #840 |
| 2023 | 33 | #1,107 |
| 2022 | 44 | #864 |
| 2021 | 47 | #833 |
| 2020 | 42 | #910 |
| 2019 | 45 | #878 |
| 2018 | 44 | #905 |
| 2017 | 52 | #817 |
| 2016 | 43 | #930 |
| 2015 | 44 | #900 |
| 2014 | 47 | #874 |
| 2013 | 32 | #1,165 |
| 2012 | 38 | #1,019 |
| 2011 | 33 | #1,117 |
| 2010 | 35 | #1,033 |
| 2009 | 23 | #1,360 |
| 2008 | 26 | #1,215 |
| 2007 | 16 | #1,694 |
| 2006 | 15 | #1,681 |
| 2005 | 15 | #1,608 |
| 2004 | 15 | #1,561 |
| 2003 | 8 | #2,320 |
| 2002 | 11 | #1,755 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 3 | #4,074 |
| 1999 | 3 | #4,041 |
How popular is Nel in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 13,203rd among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 6 about 1 in 270,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 6 girls in the US were named Nel, making it the 13,203rd most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 12,137th. Its busiest year was 2013, with 11 girls. It first appears in the records in 1908.
Half of all the girls named Nel in the US since 1880 were born between 2008 and 2021, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 167 girls in the US were given Nel or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,197, up from #13,203 for this spelling alone.
Nel in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | #13,203 |
| 2024 | 8 | #11,117 |
| 2023 | 8 | #11,164 |
| 2022 | 7 | #12,237 |
| 2021 | 5 | #15,246 |
| 2020 | 7 | #12,137 |
| 2019 | 8 | #11,350 |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 9 | #10,685 |
| 2016 | 6 | #14,326 |
| 2015 | 10 | #10,143 |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 11 | #9,607 |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 6 | #14,816 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 7 | #13,698 |
| 2008 | 5 | #17,498 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 0 | – |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 0 | – |
| 1972 | 0 | – |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 0 | – |
| 1969 | 0 | – |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 0 | – |
| 1965 | 0 | – |
| 1964 | 0 | – |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 0 | – |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 0 | – |
| 1958 | 0 | – |
| 1957 | 0 | – |
| 1956 | 0 | – |
| 1955 | 0 | – |
| 1954 | 0 | – |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 5 | #5,413 |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 0 | – |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 0 | – |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 0 | – |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 0 | – |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 0 | – |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 0 | – |
| 1925 | 0 | – |
| 1924 | 0 | – |
| 1923 | 0 | – |
| 1922 | 0 | – |
| 1921 | 0 | – |
| 1920 | 0 | – |
| 1919 | 0 | – |
| 1918 | 7 | #3,867 |
| 1917 | 0 | – |
| 1916 | 7 | #3,550 |
| 1915 | 6 | #3,793 |
| 1914 | 0 | – |
| 1913 | 0 | – |
| 1912 | 0 | – |
| 1911 | 0 | – |
| 1910 | 0 | – |
| 1909 | 0 | – |
| 1908 | 5 | #2,101 |
Names like Nel
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Evie, Hazel, Nova, Harper, Isla, Ivy, Orla, Hallie, Olive, Wren, Lily, Mabel
Other spellings of Nel
Names related to Nel
Nelly, Nela, Nella, Neli, Neela, Neyla, Noel, Neely, Nyeli, Noeli
More English names
Evelyn, Hudson, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Riley, Oakley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Carter, Harrison, River, Ellie
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Nel: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nel, updated 20 October 2026.