Where the Nelson name comes from

Nelson is son of Nell, or of Neil, and it belongs to England, Scotland, Ireland and Scandinavia all at once. It is also recorded as a baptismal name meaning son of Eleanor, which makes it one of the few common surnames that can trace back to a mother rather than a father. In the United States a great many Nelsons were a Nilsen, a Nielsen or a Nilsson first, and all three of those mean son of Nicholas. Admiral Horatio Nelson did the rest, making the surname popular as a given name as well.