Etymology

• In the U.S. also an Anglicisation of Scandinavian surnames such as Nilsen, Nielsen, and Nilsson, equivalent to "son of Nicholas".

Proper noun

1. Lord Nelson (1758-1805), a British admiral.
3. , transferred from the surname.

Quotations

• 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.