NameCensus.

UK surname

Nelson

An English patronymic surname meaning "son of Neil," derived from the Irish Gaelic name Niall, meaning "champion."

In the 1881 census there were 14,407 people recorded with the Nelson surname, ranking it #280 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 26,393, ranked #211, up from #280 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Gateshead and Govan Combination. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Eastriggs, South Lakeland and Carrick South.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Nelson is 26,560 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 83.2%.

1881 census count

14,407

Ranked #280

Modern count

26,393

2016, ranked #211

Peak year

2014

26,560 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Nelson had 14,407 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #280 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 26,393 in 2016, ranked #211.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 18,502 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Nelson surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Nelson surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Nelson 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 8,530 #314
1861 historical 9,463 #279
1881 historical 14,407 #280
1891 historical 15,826 #269
1901 historical 18,502 #270
1911 historical 16,069 #302
1997 modern 24,117 #228
1998 modern 24,914 #228
1999 modern 25,154 #227
2000 modern 25,010 #227
2001 modern 24,460 #227
2002 modern 25,163 #227
2003 modern 24,738 #224
2004 modern 24,773 #223
2005 modern 24,677 #221
2006 modern 24,756 #222
2007 modern 25,008 #220
2008 modern 25,177 #220
2009 modern 25,858 #220
2010 modern 26,411 #218
2011 modern 25,996 #220
2012 modern 25,584 #219
2013 modern 26,211 #218
2014 modern 26,560 #217
2015 modern 26,447 #213
2016 modern 26,393 #211

Geography

Back to top

Where Nelsons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Gateshead, Govan Combination, Edinburgh and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Eastriggs, South Lakeland, Carrick South and Petershill. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 3
2 Gateshead Durham
3 Govan Combination Lanark
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Eastriggs Dumfries and Galloway
2 South Lakeland 010 South Lakeland
3 Carrick South South Ayrshire
4 Petershill Glasgow City
5 South Lakeland 003 South Lakeland

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Nelson

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

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Nelson

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Nelson, 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 Nelson surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Nelson 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, Nelson 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

Nelson is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Nelson 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 Nelson is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

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

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Nelson

The surname Nelson is an English surname that originated in the northern counties of England. It derives from the Old English words "Nēah" meaning "near" and "tūn" meaning "settlement" or "farmstead." Thus, Nelson essentially means "near the settlement" or "near the farmstead."

The name first appeared in records in the 13th century, with early spellings including Nellesone, Nelsone, and Nelstoun. One of the earliest recorded instances is in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire from 1297, which mentions a John Nelsone. The name is also found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379, referring to a place called Nelstonsyre.

The Nelson surname is closely associated with several place names in northern England, such as Nelson in Lancashire, which was recorded as Neluesone in the Domesday Book of 1086. Other places include Nelson in Yorkshire and Nelson in Northumberland.

One of the most famous individuals with the Nelson surname was Horatio Nelson (1758-1805), the renowned British naval officer who played a pivotal role in the Napoleonic Wars, notably at the Battle of Trafalgar. Other notable Nelsons include the American revolutionary patriot Thomas Nelson Jr. (1738-1789), who served as the Governor of Virginia, and the English writer and clergyman Robert Nelson (1656-1715), known for his influential work "A Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England."

The Nelson surname has also been associated with several other historical figures, such as John Nelson (1660-1721), an English mathematician and author, and Thomas Nelson (1782-1853), an American publisher and entrepreneur who founded the publishing company Thomas Nelson & Sons.

It's worth mentioning that the surname Nelson has been found in various parts of the world due to migration and colonial expansion, but its origins can be traced back to the northern counties of England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Nelson families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Nelson 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. Lancashire leads with 2,967 Nelsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.77x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 2,967 1.77x
Yorkshire 2,335 1.67x
Middlesex 1,103 0.78x
Durham 1,068 2.54x
Lanarkshire 854 1.87x
Northumberland 505 2.40x
Norfolk 461 2.12x
Cumberland 438 3.60x
Midlothian 370 1.95x
Surrey 370 0.54x
Westmorland 284 9.13x
Kent 248 0.51x
Warwickshire 224 0.63x
Cheshire 218 0.70x
Lincolnshire 190 0.84x
Gloucestershire 173 0.62x
Nottinghamshire 163 0.85x
Essex 146 0.52x
Derbyshire 140 0.63x
Fife 136 1.62x
Wigtownshire 132 7.03x
Ayrshire 123 1.16x
Renfrewshire 120 1.09x
Staffordshire 112 0.23x
Isle of Man 103 3.92x
Dumfriesshire 89 2.85x
Devon 71 0.24x
Angus 70 0.53x
East Lothian 66 3.52x
Glamorgan 64 0.26x
Oxfordshire 62 0.71x
Sussex 60 0.25x
Aberdeenshire 58 0.44x
Suffolk 56 0.32x
Berkshire 49 0.46x
Hampshire 49 0.17x
Shetland 48 3.32x
Perthshire 45 0.71x
Worcestershire 41 0.22x
Stirlingshire 40 0.77x
Berwickshire 39 2.28x
Kirkcudbrightshire 37 1.81x
Northamptonshire 34 0.26x
Monmouthshire 33 0.32x
Hertfordshire 31 0.32x
West Lothian 30 1.41x
Dorset 27 0.29x
Roxburghshire 27 1.05x
Shropshire 27 0.22x
Dunbartonshire 26 0.68x
Wiltshire 26 0.21x
Cambridgeshire 25 0.28x
Somerset 25 0.11x
Leicestershire 24 0.15x
Buckinghamshire 23 0.27x
Cornwall 22 0.14x
Royal Navy 21 1.25x
Bedfordshire 20 0.27x
Argyllshire 19 0.48x
Kincardineshire 19 1.10x
Carmarthenshire 14 0.23x
Buteshire 13 1.52x
Channel Islands 12 0.29x
Denbighshire 11 0.21x
Banffshire 8 0.27x
Flintshire 8 0.21x
Cardiganshire 7 0.20x
Caernarfonshire 6 0.10x
Clackmannanshire 6 0.51x
Inverness-shire 6 0.14x
Peeblesshire 4 0.60x
Merionethshire 3 0.12x
Morayshire 3 0.14x
Pembrokeshire 3 0.07x
Radnorshire 3 0.26x
Ross-shire 3 0.08x
Sutherland 3 0.28x
Herefordshire 2 0.03x
Brecknockshire 1 0.04x
Huntingdonshire 1 0.04x
Rutland 1 0.10x
Selkirkshire 1 0.08x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Barony in Lanarkshire leads with 264 Nelsons recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.28x.

Place Total Index
Barony 264 2.28x
Govan 208 1.84x
Liverpool 207 2.03x
Preston 187 4.16x
Bishopwearmouth 153 4.23x
Toxteth Park 148 2.60x
Leeds 138 1.74x
St Pancras London 123 1.08x
Glasgow 118 1.45x
Everton 116 2.17x
Islington London 112 0.82x
Manchester 102 1.35x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 101 1.32x
Great Bolton 95 4.27x
West Derby 91 1.85x
Holy Trinity 90 2.67x
Camberwell 84 0.93x
Stockton On Tees 77 3.79x
West Ham 75 1.22x
Lambeth 71 0.58x
Barrow In Furness 70 3.07x
Kendal 69 12.12x
Nottingham St Mary 69 1.40x
St Marylebone London 69 0.91x
Kearsley 66 18.68x
Sheffield 66 1.48x
Kensington London 64 0.81x
South Leith 64 3.00x
Kirkdale 63 2.23x
Oldham 59 1.09x
Farnworth 56 5.57x
Birmingham 55 0.46x
Hackney London 55 0.69x
West Greenock 55 2.79x
Blackburn 53 1.19x
Darlington 53 3.26x
St George In East 52 5.40x
Workington 51 7.31x
Chorlton On Medlock 50 1.87x
Little Bolton 49 2.27x
Colkirk 48 229.89x
Aston 47 0.48x
Hunslet 47 2.15x
Bermondsey 46 1.09x
Salford 46 0.93x
Horton In Bradford 45 2.06x
Ecclesfield 44 4.28x
Brightside Bierlow 43 1.56x
Cheetham 43 3.43x
Chorley 43 4.56x
Manningham 43 2.49x
Middlesbrough 43 2.35x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 43 3.42x
Bethnal Green London 42 0.68x
Birkenhead 42 1.69x
Bradford 42 1.24x
Cambusnethan 42 4.13x
Paddington London 42 0.81x
Burnley 41 2.90x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 40 1.53x
Bromley London 40 1.28x
Sunderland 40 5.38x
Westoe 40 1.68x
Dundee 39 0.80x
Lancaster 39 3.90x
North Sunderland 39 80.85x
Cowpen 37 7.63x
Ecclesall Bierlow 37 1.30x
Mile End Old Town 36 1.61x
Ulverston 36 7.36x
Ashton Under Lyne 34 0.93x
Greenwich 34 1.51x
Swaffham 34 19.21x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 33 2.53x
Gateshead 33 1.05x
Gorleston 33 7.54x
Hammersmith London 33 0.95x
Keighley 33 2.21x
Clerkenwell London 32 0.96x
Habergham Eaves 32 2.09x
Sculcoates 32 1.44x
Stoneykirk 31 23.07x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 905
Elizabeth 520
Sarah 358
Jane 329
Ann 281
Margaret 252
Alice 197
Annie 196
Ellen 145
Hannah 142
Eliza 126
Emma 112
Catherine 102
Martha 95
Emily 93
Isabella 89
Charlotte 76
Maria 74
Agnes 73
Harriet 61
Ada 56
Florence 52
Anne 50
Louisa 50
Edith 47
Clara 41
Eleanor 41
Caroline 39
Fanny 39
Kate 39
Frances 37
Rebecca 37
Susannah 36
Susan 32
Rose 30
Esther 29
Lucy 28
Harriett 27
Jessie 25
Amelia 23
Betsy 23
Elizth. 22
Amy 20
Grace 20
Anna 19
Matilda 19
Rachel 19
Janet 18
Margret 18
Sophia 18

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 860
William 747
Thomas 469
James 407
George 365
Robert 284
Henry 214
Joseph 212
Charles 185
Richard 135
Edward 120
Arthur 99
Frederick 98
Samuel 85
Alfred 66
Walter 57
Albert 56
Wm. 45
David 44
Horatio 44
Andrew 43
Francis 43
Frank 38
Ernest 36
Harry 36
Herbert 36
Peter 35
Alexander 26
Fred 26
Isaac 26
Benjamin 24
Thos. 24
Matthew 22
Stephen 20
Geo. 18
Tom 18
Edwin 17
Hugh 17
Robt. 17
Christopher 15
Jacob 14
Anthony 13
Wilfred 12
Michael 11
Willm. 11
Edmund 10
Fredk. 10
Moses 10
Philip 10
Henery 9

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 Nelson households.

FAQ

Nelson surname: questions and answers

How common was the Nelson surname in 1881?

In 1881, 14,407 people were recorded with the Nelson surname. That placed it at #280 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Nelson surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 26,393 in 2016. That gives Nelson a modern rank of #211.

What does the Nelson surname mean?

An English patronymic surname meaning "son of Neil," derived from the Irish Gaelic name Niall, meaning "champion."

What does the Nelson map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Nelson 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.