Nelson

See also: nelson and Nélson

English

Etymology

From Middle English Neil +‎ -son and Nell +‎ -son.

• In the United States, also an Anglicisation of North Germanic (Scandinavian) surnames such as Nilsen, Nielsen, and Nilsson, equivalent to "son of Nicholas".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɛlsən/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlsən

Proper noun

Nelson (countable and uncountable, plural Nelsons)

1. A surname originating as a patronymic.
2. A male given name transferred from the surname.
   • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom:

     Africans of my generation - and even today - generally have both a Western and an African name. Whites were either unable or unwilling to pronounce an African name, and considered it uncivilized to have one. That day, Miss Mdingane told me that my new name was Nelson. Why she bestowed this particular name upon me I have no idea. Perhaps it had something to do with the great British sea captain Lord Nelson, but that would only be a guess.

3. A placename
   1. A place in Australia
      1. A suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
      2. A small fishing town in Victoria, Australia.
   2. A city in British Columbia, Canada.
   3. A city and region of New Zealand, named after Horatio Nelson.
   4. A place in the United Kingdom
      1. A town and civil parish of Pendle borough, Lancashire, England.
      2. A village and community in Caerphilly county borough, Wales (OS grid ref ST1195).
   5. A place in the United States:
      1. An unincorporated community in Shelby County, Alabama.
      2. An unincorporated community in Butte County, California.
      3. A small city in Pickens County and Cherokee County, Georgia.
      4. A village in Lee County, Illinois.
      5. A tiny city in Douglas County, Minnesota.
      6. A tiny city in Saline County, Missouri.
      7. A small city, the county seat of Nuckolls County, Nebraska.
      8. A census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada.
      9. A town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire.
      10. A town in Madison County, New York.
      11. A former small town in Durham County, North Carolina.
      12. An unincorporated community in Choctaw County, Oklahoma.
      13. An unincorporated community in Boone County, West Virginia.
      14. An unincorporated community in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.
      15. A village in Buffalo County, Wisconsin.

Derived terms

• full nelson
• Grelling-Nelson paradox
• half nelson
• nelson
• Nelson County
• Nelsonesque
• Nelsonian
• nelsonite
• Nelson's Column
• Nelson's sparrow
• Nelson Township
• Nelsonville
• quarter nelson
• three-quarter nelson

 

Translations

male given name

• Portuguese: Nélson m

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Nelson is the 43^rd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 424,958 individuals. Nelson is most common among White (77.7%) and Black/African American (16.0%) individuals.

See also

• Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (1758-1805), British admiral.

Anagrams

• Lenons

Cebuano

Etymology

From English Nelson, from Middle English.

Proper noun

Nelson

1. a male given name from English

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English Nelson.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnelson/ [ˈnel.sõn]
• Rhymes: -elson
• Syllabification: Nel‧son

Proper noun

Nelson m

1. a male given name from English.

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English Nelson, a given name transferred from the patronymic surname (usually after Lord Nelson).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: Nel‧son
• IPA^(key): /ˈnelson/, [ˈnɛl.son]

Proper noun

Nelson

1. a male given name from English [in turn transferred from the surname], popular at about the 1970s and 1980s