The Nelms surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,303 people carried this name — #4,833 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 40,300 people counted. That is up 13% from 6,477 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Nelms surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘atten elms’.

An early record he cites: Osbert atte Elme, Oxfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Nelmes and Nelms.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 552 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Nelms was found among the farmers of 2 counties.

It was most frequent in Gloucestershire: 20 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 500. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Nelmes and Nelms.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Gloucestershire 20
Herefordshire 14

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

42 families named Nelms, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 240 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Virginia 20
North Carolina 9
Pennsylvania 7
New York 2
Maryland 2
Maine 1
Massachusetts 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 255 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Nelms in American newspapers,
1914–1923.

Newspaper page from South Bend News-times carrying the name Nelms
South Bend News-times 1923-04-12
Newspaper page from The Chronicle=news carrying the name Nelms
The Chronicle=news 1914-07-10
Newspaper page from The Indianapolis Times carrying the name Nelms
The Indianapolis Times 1923-04-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Nelms in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1960s.

838 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nelms. The most, 150, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 3.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 568
Queensland 164
Western Australia 44
New South Wales 41
Tasmania 15
South Australia 3
ACT (Canberra) 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Nelms.

Who carried it

People named Nelms,
with a public archive behind them.

  • David L. Nelms d. 2025 · researcher

Wikidata (CC0) · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Nelms,
in the records of 4 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States378 records

378 records of the Nelms name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 254
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 86
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 13
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 8
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 8
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Patrick Irvin Nelms

    Born 1948; from Oakville, Missouri. U.S. Army, medical equipment repairer; killed in action 1968 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam. Buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Horace Nelms

    Born 1921 in Georgia. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jackson Columbia, South Carolina; farm hand. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Hopewll Baptist Church Cemtery, South Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Catha Nelms

    Arrived at New York in 1879 aboard the Rhein from Bremen, aged 14; farmer. From Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 378 records for Nelms in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia45 records

45 records of the Nelms name in Australia
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 26
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 12
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thomas Nelms

    Arrived in Queensland in 1873 aboard the Ramsay, aged 20.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James William Nelms

    Retired of Tongala, Victoria; died 1996.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Elizabeth Nelms

    Died 1862 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 58.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 45 records for Nelms in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Nelms name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Hubert Nelms

    Killed in 1924 at the Drummond No. 1 mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Edward James Nelms

    Died in service in 1942.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record J. L. Nelms

    Canadian Army Medical Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Nelms name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Nelms

    Gunner, Royal Army Medical Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Nelms.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Nelms is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Nelms volume
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