Namesakes
Hall-of-Famers:
1 baseball, 1 ice hockey
(ice hockey) Nels Stewart 1962 
(baseball) Nellie Fox 1997
Most Valuable Players:
2 winners
Nels Stewart 1926; 1930 ice hockey
Nellie Fox 1959 baseball
Nobel Prize Winners:
1 peace
(peace) Nelson Mandela 1993
Notable Activists and Revolutionaries:
1 activist
(activist) Nelson Mandela 1918-2013
Notable Actors and Entertainers:
1 actor
Nelson Eddy 1901-1967
Notable Athletes:
2 soccer, 1 baseball, 1 driving, 1 football
(baseball) Nellie Fox 1927-1975
(driving) Nelson Piquet 1952-
(soccer) Nelson Parraguez 1971-
(football) Eli Manning (middle name Nelson) 1981-
(soccer) Jerry Palacios (middle name Nelson) 1981-
Notable Musicians:
1 singer
Nelson Eddy 1901-1967
Notable Politicians and Statespeople:
1 politician
Nelson Rockefeller 1908-1979
Olympic Medalists:
3 bronze, 2 gold, 2 silver, 1 silver/bronze
(bronze) Ira Davenport (middle name Nelson) 1912 800 m
(bronze) Nelson Demarco 1952; 1956 basketball
(bronze) Nelson Chelle 1956 basketball
(silver) Les Carney (middle name Nelson) 1960 200 m
(silver/bronze) Nelson Prudêncio 1968; 1972 triple jump
(gold) Nelson Diebel 1992 swimming - 100 m breaststroke; swimming - 4x100 m medley relay
(gold) Nelson Évora 2008 triple jump
(silver) Matthew Strazel (middle name Nelson) 2024 basketball
Other Leaders:
1 president
President Nelson Mandela 1994-1999 South Africa