Nelly is a pet form of Eleanor, Helen and Ellen that has long stood on its own; through Helen it is usually explained as "torch" or "bright light". The spelling with a y is especially common in Spanish-speaking families, while English speakers more often write Nellie. In the United States Nelly stood at number 1575 in 2000, reached number 1209 in 2007 and ranks number 1294 in 2025.