How popular is the baby name Nelli in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Nelli.

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Popularity of the baby name Nelli


Posts that mention the name Nelli

Popular baby names in Finland, 2023

Flag of Finland
Flag of Finland

Last year, the Nordic country of Finland welcomed 44,960 babies. Not all of these babies had government-registered names by the time Finland released its baby name data in April of 2024, though, so only 44,710 of them are accounted for below.

Finnish speakers

About 84.9% of the people in Finland primarily speak Finnish.

Of the 35,481 (named) babies born to Finnish speakers last year, 17,251 were girls and 18,230 were boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Aino and Eino.

Here are the top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names:

Girl names (Finnish speakers)

  1. Aino, 264 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 245
  3. Aada, 233
  4. Lilja, 225
  5. Sofia, 224
  6. Eevi, 220
  7. Ellen, 206
  8. Linnea, 203
  9. Helmi, 197
  10. Aava, 196 (tie)
  11. Isla, 196 (tie)
  12. Viola, 183
  13. Kerttu, 177
  14. Emma, 173
  15. Pihla, 171
  16. Venla, 167
  17. Hilla, 165 (tie)
  18. Seela, 165 (tie)
  19. Emilia, 152
  20. Ella, 148
  21. Elli, 145
  22. Livia, 143
  23. Alma, 138
  24. Selma, 128
  25. Elsi, 127
  26. Elsa, 124
  27. Enni, 123
  28. Matilda, 122
  29. Ilona, 120
  30. Oona, 116
  31. Frida, 113
  32. Vivian, 111
  33. Minea, 108
  34. Vilma, 106
  35. Aurora, 105
  36. Hilda, 105
  37. Hilma, 101 (tie)
  38. Stella, 101 (tie)
  39. Lumi, 99
  40. Amanda, 98
  41. Alina, 94 (tie)
  42. Alisa, 94 (tie)
  43. Mila, 93
  44. Mette, 92
  45. Nella, 90
  46. Viivi, 87 (tie)
  47. Bea, 87 (tie)
  48. Siiri, 83 (3-way tie)
  49. Nelli, 83 (3-way tie)
  50. Saimi, 83 (3-way tie)

Boy names (Finnish speakers)

  1. Eino, 376 baby boys
  2. Oliver, 343
  3. Väinö, 320
  4. Elias, 305
  5. Onni, 283
  6. Leo, 278
  7. Emil, 229
  8. Vilho, 217
  9. Eeli, 207
  10. Aatos, 200
  11. Noel, 194
  12. Alvar, 193
  13. Oiva, 192
  14. Toivo, 189
  15. Eemil, 186
  16. Leevi, 184
  17. Nooa, 181
  18. Hugo, 168
  19. Joel, 166
  20. Otso, 150
  21. Viljami, 147
  22. Kasper, 137 (tie)
  23. Eemi, 137 (tie)
  24. Eelis, 136 (tie)
  25. Anton, 136 (tie)
  26. Aarni, 134
  27. Niilo, 131
  28. Lenni, 130
  29. Aapo, 129
  30. Daniel, 126
  31. Julius, 125
  32. Milo, 122
  33. Leon, 121
  34. Edvin, 120
  35. Aaron, 119 (3-way tie)
  36. Viljo, 119 (3-way tie)
  37. Luka, 119 (3-way tie)
  38. Samuel, 116
  39. Veikko, 115
  40. Mikael, 111 (tie)
  41. Eetu, 111 (tie)
  42. Eliel, 109
  43. Lukas, 107 (tie)
  44. Jooa, 107 (tie)
  45. Lucas, 105
  46. Rasmus, 104
  47. Sulo, 102 (tie)
  48. Eemeli, 102 (tie)
  49. Iivo, 100
  50. Jasper, 92

How are those similar-looking #1 names pronounced? The girl name Aino is pronounced IE-no (first syllable rhymes with “pie” and “lie”), while the boy name Eino is pronounced AY-no (first syllable rhymes with “pay” and “lay”).

Swedish speakers

About 5.1% of the people in Finland primarily speak Swedish.

Of the 3,009 (named) babies born to Swedish speakers in Finland last year, 1,451 were girls and 1,558 were boys.

Here are the top 5+ girl names and top 5 boy names:

Girl names (Swedish speakers)Boy names (Swedish speakers)
1. Ellen, 29 baby girls
2. Astrid, 21
3. Ebba, 20 (tie)
4. Saga, 20 (tie)
5. Olivia, 18 (tie)
6. Stella, 18 (tie)		1. Liam, 33 baby boys
2. Theo, 27 (tie)
3. Alvar, 27 (tie)
4. Leon, 25
5. Hugo, 23

Other languages

Other languages spoken in Finland include Russian, Estonian, Arabic, English, and Sami.

Of the 6,220 (named) babies born in Finland last year to parents who primarily speak something other than Finnish or Swedish, 3,085 were girls and 3,135 were boys.

Here are the top 5 girl names and top 5 boy names:

Girl names (other languages)Boy names (other languages)
1. Sofia, 56 baby girls
2. Emilia, 29
3. Olivia, 28
4. Sara, 25
5. Anna, 24		1. Adam, 52 baby boys
2. Mark, 38
3. Daniel, 34
4. Elias, 32
5. Muhammad, 31

Finally, here are Finland’s 2022 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Finland (public domain)

Nelly Furtado was named after Nellie Kim

Nelly Furtado's album "Whoa, Nelly!" (2000)

Portuguese-Canadian pop singer Nelly Furtado was born in British Columbia in December of 1978.

Her full name at birth was Nelly Kim Furtado, and, back when she was promoting her first album, she mentioned (during a Yahoo! Music chat) that her given names were inspired by an athlete:

lovegrowsdeeper: is nelly short for noella?

launch_nelly_furtado: No, just Nelly. Nelly Kim Furtado. I was named after a gymnast.

Soviet gymnast Nelli Kim competed against Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Both Nelli and Nadia earned more than one “perfect 10” at the Games that year, but Nadia’s initial 10 came first.

During the years she was competing, Kim’s first name was typically transliterated “Nelli.” These days she lives in the U.S. and seems to prefer the spelling “Nellie.”

Interestingly, Nellie Kim knows about her namesake and is eager to meet her:

– Do you know the singer Nelly Furtado, who was named after you?

– Her full name is Nelly Kim Furtado. Here’s the story… I don’t know how to contact her. About 10-15 years ago she came to Minneapolis with a concert, my American friends wrote her an email: Dear Nelly, you know, Nellie Kim is also here, it would be great to meet, gather both Nellie Kims, get acquainted. But there is probably some filtering going on there: someone from her management apparently considered this letter a joke.

But who knows what will happen — maybe some journalist will tell her: dear, there’s this Nellie Kim, she lives basically across the road from you. You’re in Canada, she’s in Minneapolis, an hour flight.

I hope they’re able to get together someday. :)

Sources:

Popular and unique baby names in Quebec (Canada), 2019

Flag of Quebec
Flag of Quebec

According to Retraite Québec, the most popular baby names in Quebec in 2019 were Olivia and Liam.

Here are the province’s top 10 girl names and top 10 11 boy names of 2019:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 549 baby girls
  2. Emma, 517
  3. Alice, 513
  4. Charlie, 499
  5. Charlotte, 497
  6. Lea, 465
  7. Florence, 418
  8. Livia, 407
  9. Rosalie, 354
  10. Beatrice, 343

Boy Names

  1. Liam, 695 baby boys
  2. William, 659
  3. Thomas, 648
  4. Leo, 596
  5. Noah, 585
  6. Logan, 561
  7. Nathan, 505
  8. Felix, 492
  9. Raphael, 489
  10. Edouard, 482 (tied)
  11. Emile, 482 (tied)

In the girls’ top 10, Rosalie re-entered and ousted Zoe (now ranked 15th).

In the boys’ top 10, Raphael and Emile replaced Jacob (now ranked 12th).

Here are some of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Quebec last year:

Unique Girl NamesUnique Boy Names
Allegresse, Berangere, Clarity, Daxia, Elixanne, Fenskerly, Flechanne, Gersia, Hugh-Laury, Izalie, Judicia-Wonder, Klermona, Lyriel, Merope, Nelli Nord, Nelsy, Ophelia Gipsy, Pleroma, Qetzia, Ryzlene, Sarassie, Thiziri, Tulugaq, Umi, Virgo, Waapikun, Xochitl Lilou, Yrina, ZackaelleAzai, Bonheur, Chalifix, Chogyal, Delson, Espoir, Fesley, Guerby, Heliodore, Inupak, Jeff-Smart, Kapukutat, Keawolf, Light-Shine, Miami-Liam Zion, Nendley, Ochre, Osric, Pelly, Quintus, Ronnoco, Skysun, Tiki Bolt, Ulrick, Vainqueur, Wibnerley, Xayren, Yalas, Zephyr Meteor

Background and/or possible explanations for some of the above:

  • Allegresse (allégresse) means “elation, joy, gladness” in French.
  • Hugh-Laury…a reference to English actor Hugh Laurie?
  • Merope is one of the seven Pleiades.
  • Tulugaq means “raven” in Inupiaq.
  • Bonhuer means “happiness” in French.
  • Espoir means “hope” in French.
  • Vainqueur means “conqueror” or “victor, winner” in French.

In 2018, the top two names in Quebec were Emma and William.

Sources: List of Baby Names – Retraite Québec, Wiktionary

Image: Adapted from Flag of Quebec (public domain)

How did Nadia Comaneci influence U.S. baby names in 1976?

Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci
Nadia Comaneci

At the 1976 Summer Olympics, 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci became the first to score a “perfect 10” in a modern Olympic gymnastics event. (She was on the uneven bars at the time.) She ended up earning six more 10s — and winning three gold medals — in Montreal that July.

The same year, Comaneci popped up in the U.S. baby name data for the first and only time:

  • 1978: unlisted
  • 1977: unlisted
  • 1976: 9 baby girls named Comaneci [debut]
  • 1975: unlisted
  • 1974: unlisted

Comaneci (pronounced koh-mah-NETCH) is one of several Romanian surnames that refer to the Cumans, a Turkic people who migrated to the Carpathian region in the early 13th century.

The name Nadia also got quite a boost in 1976. It jumped not only into the girls’ top 1,000, but straight into the top 500:

  • 1978: 610 baby girls named Nadia [rank: 353rd]
  • 1977: 790 baby girls named Nadia [rank: 303rd]
  • 1976: 585 baby girls named Nadia [rank: 360th]
  • 1975: 86 baby girls named Nadia
  • 1974: 88 baby girls named Nadia

Nadia Comaneci’s first name was inspired by a Russian film character called Nadezhda. Nadia (also spelled Nadya) is a diminutive of Nadezhda, which means “hope” in Russian.

Comaneci now lives in the U.S. and is married to fellow Olympic gymnast Bart Conner. They have a son, Dylan Paul, who is named for Bart’s favorite musician, Bob Dylan, and Bart’s former University of Oklahoma coach, Paul Ziert.

P.S. Soviet gymnast Nelli Kim, who also earned a pair of perfect scores at the 1976 Summer Olympics, is likely behind he debut of Nelli in the U.S. baby name data in 1977.

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the cover of Time magazine (2 Aug. 1976)