Over the past 110 years, 70 641 boys have been named Nelson. The name Nelson ranks 354th in the United States among the most common names for boys. For the first time more than ten times newborns were named Nelson in 1910. The peak of popularity of the name Nelson came in the 1910s and 1920s. You can see absolute numbers and relative numbers on the chart. Indicators per 100K more accurately assess the popularity of the name.