Explore the Family Name Nelles

The meaning of Nelles

Dutch, Flemish, and German: patronymic from the personal name Nelis, a short form of Cornelis (see Cornelius) or of Daniels.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Nelles in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the Nelles surname has seen a decrease over a decade. In 2000, Nelles was ranked 47,838th in prevalence, and by 2010, it had fallen to 53,802nd, reflecting a drop of 12.47%. The number of individuals bearing this surname also declined from 416 in 2000 to 384 in 2010, marking a decrease of 7.69%. The proportion of people with the Nelles surname per 100,000 population also dropped from 0.15 to 0.13 during the same period, indicating a decline of 13.33%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#47,838	#53,802	-12.47%
Count	416	384	-7.69%
Proportion per 100k	0.15	0.13	-13.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Nelles

The Decennial U.S. Census data reveals changes in the ethnic identity associated with the Nelles surname between 2000 and 2010. Originally, nearly all (97.12%) of those with this surname identified as White in 2000. However, there was a decrease in this percentage to 93.23% by 2010. During the same period, there was an emergence of multiple-race and Hispanic identities among individuals with the Nelles surname. The proportion of individuals identifying as two or more races rose to 2.34% in 2010, and those identifying as Hispanic increased to 3.13%. There were no recorded instances of individuals with the Nelles surname identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either 2000 or 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.12%	93.23%	-4.01%
Hispanic	0%	3.13%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	2.34%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%