Why did Nelly debut as a boy name in 2002?

In 2002, the name Nelly appeared as a boy name for the first time in the U.S. baby name data:

• 2004: unlisted
• 2003: 7 baby boys named Nelly
• 2002: 5 baby boys named Nelly (gender-specific debut)
• 2001: unlisted
• 2000: unlisted

Why?

Because of St. Louis-based rapper and singer Nelly (birth name: Cornell Haynes, Jr.).

Nelly was particularly successful in 2002. He’d already scored a couple of top-ten hits — “Country Grammar” in 2000, and “Ride wit Me” in 2001 — but 2002 was the year that two of his songs spent a total of 17 weeks atop Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.

• “Hot in Herre” ranked #1 for seven weeks straight, from late June to mid-August. It was knocked out of the top spot by…
• “Dilemma” (feat. Kelly Rowland), which also ranked #1 for seven weeks straight, from mid-August to late September. It regained the top position for another three weeks, from mid-October to early November, after being temporarily dislodged (by a different Kelly — recent American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson with her debut single “A Moment Like This”).

Both “Hot in Herre” and “Dilemma” went on to win Grammy Awards (for Best Male Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, respectively) in early 2003.

What are your thoughts on the name Nelly? Do you like it more as a boy name or as a girl name (à la Nelly Furtado)?

P.S. The song that “Hot in Herre” ousted in mid-2002 was “Foolish” by Ashanti. More than twenty years later, Nelly and Ashanti got married (in late 2023) and welcomed a baby boy (in mid-2024) named Kareem Kenkaide Haynes. His middle name is Ashanti’s father’s name.

Sources:

• Nelly – Wikipedia
• Nelly – Billboard.com
• Phillipp, Charlotte and Stephanie Sengwe. “Nelly and Ashanti Share How Life Has Changed After Welcoming Son Kareem.” People.com 10 Nov. 2024.
• SSA

Image: Screenshot of the music video for “Dilemma”