Nelly

Variation of Nellie and Nell
"light"

Nelly Origin and Meaning

The name Nelly is a girl's name of English origin meaning "light".

Nelly or Nellie is an adorable nickname name that can be short for a wide range of more formal appellations or that can stand on its own, and is typical of the vintage nickname genre that is growing in popularity. While Nelly can be used for several different names, from Helen to Eleanor to Cornelia, it has stood on its own for more than a century. It was one of the most popular names – spelled as Nellie – in the U.S. at the end of the 1800s.

The musician known as DJ Fatboy Slim named his little girl Nelly.

# 940 in the US

Nelly Rank in US Top 1000

# 1338 on Nameberry

Nelly Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Nelly Popularity

Famous People Named Nelly

  • Nelly Kim Furtado
    Canadian singer,songwriter
  • Nelly Artin Kalfayan
    Egyptian singer, actress and comedienne
  • Nelly Arcan (born Isabelle Fortier)
    Canadian novelist
  • Leonie "Nelly" Sachs
    German poet and playwright
  • Nelly Adamson Landry
    Belgian tennis player
  • Nelly Olin
    French politician
  • Ellen Lawless "Nelly" Ternan
    English actress; mistress of writer Charles Dickens
  • Nelly Thüring
    Swedish politician
  • Nelly Viennot
    French football referee
  • Nelly Wicky
    Swiss politician
  • Nelly Anna "Nel" Benschop
    Dutch poet
  • Penelope Scotland "Nelly" Disick
    daughter of reality TV personalities Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian
  • Nelly May Lois Cook (b. 2010)
    daughter of DJ Fatboy Slim and TV personality Zoe Ball

Nelly in Pop Culture

  • Ellen "Nelly" Dean
    main narrator in Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights"
  • Nelly Welch
    character in G. A. Henty's "True to the Old Flag"
  • Nelly
    character in "The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod" by Heather Brewer
  • Nelly Yuki
    character on TV's "Gossip Girl"
  • Nelly Hardy
    character in G. A. Henty's "Facing Death"