Nichol
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "people's victory".
Name Census estimates that about 2,687 living Americans carry the first name Nichol. It is a predominantly female name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Nichol today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nichol births was 1979 (195 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nichol. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nichol with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.7K
~ 1 in 127,560 Americans
Peak year
1979
195 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1977 SSA rank
#6,545
Tracked since 1944
Census
Nichol in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,991 people with the first name Nichol, which placed it at #5,653 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,653
National first-name rank
People counted
3.0K
2,991 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nichol
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nichol is White at 65.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.1%) and Black (12.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Nichol described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Nichol at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.1% · 1,946
- Hispanic or Latino14.1% · 421
- Black or African American12.3% · 369
- Two or more races4.9% · 147
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 27
Gender
Gender distribution for Nichol
Out of the 2,922 babies given the name Nichol since 1880, 99.2% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Nichol as a male name
- Ranked #6,545 in 1977
- 5 male births in 1977
- Peak: 1969 (6 births)
Nichol as a female name
- Ranked #15,994 in 2014
- 6 female births in 2014
- Peak: 1979 (195 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nichol leans strongly female. 2,857 people counted with this name were female (95.9%), compared with 122 male bearers (4.1%).
Popularity
Nichol: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nichol from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 1,444 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nichol by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Nichol during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nichols live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. California, Ohio, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Nichol, while Virginia, South Carolina, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 56 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nichol
The given name Nichol has its origins in the Greek language, deriving from the word "Nikolaos," which means "victor of the people." This name gained popularity during the Byzantine era and was widely used across various regions, including parts of modern-day Turkey, Greece, and the Middle East.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Nichol can be traced back to the 4th century AD, when it was bestowed upon Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children and sailors. This historical figure, also known as Nicholas of Myra, lived in the ancient city of Patara (modern-day Turkey) and was renowned for his generosity and kindness.
Throughout history, the name Nichol has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the most prominent figures bearing this name was Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543), the Polish astronomer who revolutionized our understanding of the solar system by proposing the heliocentric theory, which placed the Sun at the center of the universe.
Another remarkable individual was Nicholas of Cusa (1401-1464), a German philosopher, theologian, and mathematician who made significant contributions to the fields of philosophy and science during the Renaissance period.
In the realm of literature, Nicholas Nickleby is the protagonist of the novel of the same name, written by Charles Dickens in 1838-1839. This iconic character has become a symbol of perseverance and resilience in the face of adversity.
The name Nichol has also been carried by notable figures in the arts, such as Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947), a Russian painter, philosopher, and writer who was influential in the development of modern art and philosophy.
Throughout its history, the name Nichol has undergone various spellings and variations, such as Nickolas, Nikolas, and Nicolaus, reflecting the diverse cultural and linguistic influences it has encountered across different regions and time periods.
People
Nichol + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nichol as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nichol: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nichol?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,687 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nichol going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 127,560 US residents.
Is Nichol a common name?
We classify Nichol as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,922 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nichol most popular?
The single biggest year for Nichol was 1979, when 195 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nichol is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nichol in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,991 people with the name Nichol, or 0.99 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,653 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Nichol in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Nichol?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nichol leans strongly female. 2,857 people counted with this name were female (95.9%), compared with 122 male bearers (4.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Nichol?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nichol is White at 65.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.1%) and Black (12.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Nichol most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nichol in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.1% (1,946 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Nichol in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nichol a female name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Nichol in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Nichol still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nichol in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Nichol can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Nichol as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Nichol, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.