FastNamesNicholas
Greek name meaning "Derived from Greek Nikolaos (Νικόλαος), composed of nike ('victory') and laos ('people'), signifying 'victory of the people'.". Ranked 112th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Nicholas
Derived from Greek Nikolaos (Νικόλαος), composed of nike ('victory') and laos ('people'), signifying 'victory of the people'.
Linguistically, Nicholas is classified under Greek naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "NIK-uh-luhs".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Nicholas has been given to a total of 926,047 boys. It has also been given to 3,152 girls.
Peak year: Nicholas reached its highest relative share among boys in 1995, when 29,160 babies received the name (15,318 per million births).
All-time best rank: 5th place, first achieved in 1999.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 112th with 3,115 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 62nd (down 50 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Nicholas in the 1990s than in any other decade (275,329 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 730 |
| 1890s | 857 |
| 1900s | 1,334 |
| 1910s | 10,233 |
| 1920s | 13,608 |
| 1930s | 9,716 |
| 1940s | 15,503 |
| 1950s | 22,614 |
| 1960s | 22,339 |
| 1970s | 65,068 |
| 1980s | 223,308 |
| 1990s | 275,329 |
| 2000s | 177,609 |
| 2010s | 66,811 |
| 2020s | 20,988 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Nicholas is most common in the US
Accounting for when Nicholas was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Rhode Island: 1.9 times the national rate (5,697 births since 1910).
- Connecticut: 1.7 times the national rate (17,103 births since 1910).
- New Jersey: 1.7 times the national rate (41,925 births since 1910).
- New Hampshire: 1.6 times the national rate (5,260 births since 1910).
- Massachusetts: 1.6 times the national rate (32,354 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Nicholas?
About 842,000 living American boys and men share the name Nicholas. Additionally, an estimated 2,900 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Nicholas is 32 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Nicholas
Nicholas stems from the ancient Greek compound name Nikolaos, uniting nike ('victory') with laos ('people' or 'armed host'). The name appears in the New Testament as one of the seven deacons of the early Jerusalem church, but its worldwide renown stems from Saint Nicholas of Myra, the fourth-century bishop of Lycia whose legend as a secret gift-giver evolved into Santa Claus.
Saint Nicholas became the patron saint of children, sailors, merchants, and Russia, making the name an essential baptismal staple across both Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic Christendom. Introduced to England by the Normans after 1066, Nicholas generated dozens of medieval diminutives and surnames, including Nicholls, Nicholson, Nixon, and Cole.
In United States vital statistics, Nicholas has maintained a robust presence for over a century, ranking in the top 100 in the late nineteenth century before undergoing a dramatic renaissance starting in the 1970s. The name entered the national top twenty in 1979 and held a place in the prestigious top ten from 1993 through 2004, reaching peak rank 5 in 1997 with over 27,000 newborn boys.
Notable people named Nicholas
- Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), Last Emperor of Russia
- Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), Renaissance astronomer and mathematician
- Nicolas Cage (1964–), American actor and Academy Award winner
- Nicholas Sparks (1965–), American novelist and screenwriter
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 204.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 228.
- P.M. Fraser, E. Matthews. A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names (1987), p. 334.