Nelson Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Nelson Name Meaning: A patronymic name from the medieval personal name 'nel' or 'neal','son of Neil','champion'.

The name is of medieval origin.The name was also adopted by Norseman.

Discover how your Nelson ancestors earned their living and spread across the country. Find out more about your family history by using the Free Search box.

Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Buckinghamshire 33
Carnarvonshire 1
Cambridgeshire 9
Cardiganshire 9
Channel Islands 5
Cheshire 97
Carmarthenshire 7
Cornwall 9
Cumberland 312
Derbyshire 63
Devon 24
Dorset 30
Durham 293
Essex 30
Glamorgan 3
Gloucestershire 98
Hampshire 31
Herefordshire 6
Hertfordshire 16
Hunts and Rutland 3
Isle of Man 89
Kent 64
Lancashire 1,307
Leicestershire 13
Lincolnshire 104
London 864
Middlesex 28
Monmouthshire 2
Northumberland 206
Norfolk 340
Northamptonshire 21
Nottinghamshire 120
Oxfordshire 72
Shropshire 1
Suffolk 65
Somerset 19
Surrey 20
Sussex 20
Staffordshire 49
Warwickshire 91
Westmorland 240
Wiltshire 10
Worcestershire 16
Yorkshire 1,473
Anglesey 0
Bedfordshire 0
Brecknockshire 0
Berkshire 0
Denbighshire 0
Flintshire 0
Merionethshire 0
Montgomeryshire 0
Pembrokeshire 0
Radnorshire 0

Nelson Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Nelson family

Profession Census Frequency
Female Servant 220
Independent 202
Agricultural Labourer 172
Labourer 97
Farmer 83
Male Servant 76
Weaver 56
Cotton Weaver 55
Shoe Maker 46
Tailor 38
Ag Labourer 36
Dress Maker 34
Coal Miner 28
Independant 27
Stone Mason 26
Carpenter 26
Joiner 23
Ag Lab 19
Pauper 18
Blacksmith 17
Mason 17
Mariner 17
Gardener 16
Servant 16
Lab 16

Most Frequent Forenames for Nelson

Name Census Frequency
Mary Nelson 6,015
John Nelson 5,874
William Nelson 5,648
Elizabeth Nelson 3,770
Thomas Nelson 3,441
James Nelson 3,026
George Nelson 2,647
Sarah Nelson 2,486
Jane Nelson 2,262
Ann Nelson 2,092
Robert Nelson 2,066
Margaret Nelson 1,880
Henry Nelson 1,500
Joseph Nelson 1,449
Alice Nelson 1,345
Charles Nelson 1,310
Annie Nelson 1,259
Richard Nelson 1,052
Ellen Nelson 984
Hannah Nelson 948
Edward Nelson 879
Eliza Nelson 799
Arthur Nelson 692
Martha Nelson 666
Emma Nelson 662

Nelson Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Nelson 100% 86,357
2 Nilson 83% 4,551
3 Neilson 86% 3,894
4 Nielsen 71% 734
5 Nielson 86% 597
6 Nalson 83% 369
7 Nilsen 67% 198
8 Nealson 86% 152
9 Nolson 83% 141
10 Nellson 86% 119
11 Nulson 83% 109

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The surname Nelson is the most popular version of all its varients

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