Nelson

This name means the son of Neil. It is a masculine given name of Gaelic origin. The name is an Anglicization of the Gaelic “Néill,” which is of disputed derivation. The Gaelic name may be derived from the words “nél,” meaning “cloud” or “niadh,” meaning “champion.” The Gaelic name was adopted by the Vikings and taken to Iceland as Njáll. From Iceland, it went via Norway, Denmark, and Normandy to England. The surname “Neil” is a reduced form of the surname “McNeil” (from the Gaelic Mac Néill, ‘son of Niall’), or variant form the surname of Neill (from the Irish Gaelic Ó Néill or the Scottish Gaelic Mac Néill, meaning “descendant of Niall” and “son of Niall.”