NameCensus.

UK surname

Nelis

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic Ó Niallghusa meaning "descendant of Niallghus".

In the 1881 census there were 21 people recorded with the Nelis surname, ranking it #30,609 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 196, ranked #19,848, up from #30,609 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to No data. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Greenock West and Central, Gourock East, Greenock West and Lyle Road and Greenock Upper Central.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Nelis is 207 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 833.3%.

1881 census count

21

Ranked #30,609

Modern count

196

2016, ranked #19,848

Peak year

2010

207 bearers

Map years

3

1998 to 2016

Key insights

  • Nelis had 21 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #30,609 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 196 in 2016, ranked #19,848.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 71 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Nelis surname distribution map

The map shows where the Nelis surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Nelis surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Nelis over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 14 #30,790
1861 historical 35 #29,571
1881 historical 21 #30,609
1891 historical 54 #29,849
1901 historical 71 #26,277
1911 historical 28 #30,296
1997 modern 154 #20,780
1998 modern 164 #20,505
1999 modern 163 #20,698
2000 modern 155 #21,341
2001 modern 158 #20,788
2002 modern 169 #20,307
2003 modern 158 #20,952
2004 modern 149 #21,905
2005 modern 167 #20,296
2006 modern 163 #20,789
2007 modern 171 #20,387
2008 modern 182 #19,800
2009 modern 189 #19,727
2010 modern 207 #19,007
2011 modern 185 #20,288
2012 modern 194 #19,606
2013 modern 196 #19,790
2014 modern 200 #19,713
2015 modern 197 #19,774
2016 modern 196 #19,848

Geography

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Where Nelis' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around No data. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Greenock West and Central, Gourock East, Greenock West and Lyle Road, Greenock Upper Central, Lower Bow and Larkfield, Fancy Farm, Mallard Bowl and Paisley West. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 No data No data

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Greenock West and Central Inverclyde
2 Gourock East, Greenock West and Lyle Road Inverclyde
3 Greenock Upper Central Inverclyde
4 Lower Bow and Larkfield, Fancy Farm, Mallard Bowl Inverclyde
5 Paisley West Renfrewshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Nelis

These lists show first names that appear often with the Nelis surname in historical and recent records.

Historical female names

No Forenames Found

Historical male names

No Forenames Found

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Nelis

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Nelis, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Nelis surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Nelis household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Nelis is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Nelis is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Nelis falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Nelis is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Other

This describes the area pattern most associated with Nelis, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Nelis

The surname NELIS originated in the Netherlands during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Dutch personal name "Neel" or "Nele", which were diminutive forms of the name Cornelius. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 15th century in the provinces of North Brabant and Limburg.

In the 16th century, the name NELIS appeared in several municipal records and church registers in the city of Maastricht, located in the southern part of the Netherlands near the Belgian border. It is believed that the name may have been introduced to this region by Flemish immigrants who settled there during this time.

One of the earliest known bearers of the NELIS surname was Jan Nelis, a merchant and alderman in the city of 's-Hertogenbosch in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Pieter Nelis, a Catholic priest and theologian who lived in the 17th century and served as the rector of the University of Louvain in Belgium.

In the 18th century, the NELIS name gained prominence in the Netherlands with the birth of Cornelius Francis Nelis (1737-1798), a Dutch Catholic bishop and writer who served as the Bishop of Antwerp. His scholarly works on theology and philosophy were widely respected throughout Europe.

Another prominent individual with the NELIS surname was Arnold Nelis (1787-1858), a Dutch lawyer and statesman who served as the Minister of Justice in the Netherlands from 1840 to 1848.

Over time, the NELIS surname spread beyond the Netherlands and Belgium to other parts of Europe and the Americas due to emigration and the expansion of trade networks. However, its origins can be traced back to the Low Countries in the late medieval period.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Nelis families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Nelis surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lanarkshire leads with 10 Nelis' recorded in 1881 and an index of 15.10x.

County Total Index
Lanarkshire 10 15.10x
Renfrewshire 6 37.81x
Surrey 2 2.00x
Lancashire 1 0.41x
Monmouthshire 1 6.76x
Yorkshire 1 0.49x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. West Greenock in Renfrewshire leads with 6 Nelis' recorded in 1881 and an index of 210.53x.

Place Total Index
West Greenock 6 210.53x
Barony 5 29.83x
Glasgow 3 25.51x
Rotherhithe 2 79.05x
Abergavenny 1 181.82x
Dewsbury 1 48.08x
Govan 1 6.11x
Halliwell 1 113.64x
Rutherglen 1 103.09x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Nelis surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Rosannah 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Nelis surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Daniel 1
James 1
Jean 1
William 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Nelis households.

FAQ

Nelis surname: questions and answers

How common was the Nelis surname in 1881?

In 1881, 21 people were recorded with the Nelis surname. That placed it at #30,609 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Nelis surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 196 in 2016. That gives Nelis a modern rank of #19,848.

What does the Nelis surname mean?

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic Ó Niallghusa meaning "descendant of Niallghus".

What does the Nelis map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Nelis bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.