First found in Lancashire, where the family was seated from early times. The name first appeared on the early census rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: Francis Nelson, who arrived in Virginia in 1606, 14 years before the "Mayflower;" George Nelson, who came to Virginia in 1623; Ambrose Nelson, who arrived in Maryland in 1666.

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