Nicholes
Masc. name of Greek origin meaning "victor of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 847 living Americans carry the first name Nicholes. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nicholes today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nicholes births was 1989 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nicholes. 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.
People living today
847
~ 1 in 404,669 Americans
Peak year
1989
40 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2013 SSA rank
#13,482
Tracked since 1950
Popularity
Nicholes: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nicholes from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 294 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nicholes 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 Nicholes during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nicholes' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Nicholes, while Washington, New York, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nicholes
The name Nicholes is a variant spelling of the more common name Nicholas, which has its origins in the Greek name Nikolaos. This name is derived from the Greek words "nikan" meaning "to conquer" and "laos" meaning "people." The name can be interpreted to mean "victory of the people" or "conqueror of the people."
The name Nikolaos has its roots in ancient Greek history and mythology. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in reference to Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian saint and Greek bishop of Myra in modern-day Turkey. Saint Nicholas was renowned for his generosity and acts of kindness, which later led to the tradition of gift-giving associated with Santa Claus.
In the Middle Ages, the name Nicholas gained widespread popularity across Europe, particularly in England, France, and Germany. It was during this time that various spellings and variations of the name emerged, including Nicholes.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Nicholes was Nicholes de Farnham, an English clergyman and scholar who lived in the 13th century. Another notable figure was Nicholes de Tuddenham, a 14th-century English landowner and politician.
In the 16th century, Nicholes Breton, an English poet and novelist, was a prominent figure in English literature. His works included "The Wonders of an Idle Brain" and "The Miseries of Mauillia."
During the 17th century, Nicholes Culpeper was an English botanist, herbalist, and physician who published several influential works on herbal medicine and astrology.
In the 18th century, Nicholes Revett was a pioneering English architect and explorer who is best known for his work in documenting and preserving ancient Greek architecture.
While the name Nicholes has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a unique and historically significant variant of the more common Nicholas.
People
Nicholes + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nicholes 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
Nicholes: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nicholes?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 847 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nicholes 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 404,669 US residents.
Is Nicholes a common name?
We classify Nicholes as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 879 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nicholes most popular?
The single biggest year for Nicholes was 1989, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nicholes is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nicholes a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nicholes in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.