Nicholette
Feminine diminutive form of the name Nicholas, of Greek origin meaning "victorious people".
Name Census estimates that about 1,194 living Americans carry the first name Nicholette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nicholette today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nicholette births was 1993 (74 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nicholette. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 287,064 Americans
Peak year
1993
74 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,942
Tracked since 1948
Census
Nicholette in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,074 people with the first name Nicholette, which placed it at #11,785 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
#11,785
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,074 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nicholette
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicholette is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (13.8%) and Hispanic (13.5%). 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 Nicholette 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 Nicholette at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.8% · 674
- Black or African American13.8% · 148
- Hispanic or Latino13.5% · 145
- Two or more races5.9% · 63
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 21
Popularity
Nicholette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nicholette from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 390 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
Nicholette 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 Nicholette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nicholettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Nicholette, while New York, Illinois, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nicholette
The name Nicholette is a French feminine form of the name Nicholas, which has its origins in the Greek name Nikolaos. Nikolaos is derived from the words "nikan" meaning "to conquer" and "laos" meaning "people." The name was brought to France during the Middle Ages and the feminine form Nicholette emerged as a variation.
Nicholette was a relatively uncommon name during the medieval period, but it gained some popularity in France during the Renaissance era. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nicholette was in a 13th-century French fabliau, a genre of humorous and often satirical tales.
In the 16th century, a French noblewoman named Nicholette de Vertus (1505-1572) gained recognition for her literary works, including a collection of poems and a novel. Her writings provided insights into the lives of women during the Renaissance and helped to popularize the name.
Another notable figure in history with the name Nicholette was Nicholette Bourcier (1755-1838), a French artist and engraver who was known for her exquisite engravings of landscapes and architectural subjects. Her works were exhibited at the prestigious Paris Salon and she was recognized as one of the leading female artists of her time.
In the 19th century, Nicholette Ganne (1828-1905) was a French novelist and playwright. She wrote several popular novels and plays that explored themes of love, family, and societal issues. Her works were well-received and helped to further establish the name in French culture.
Another notable Nicholette was Nicholette Leyder (1852-1935), a French soprano who had a successful career performing in operas throughout Europe. She was particularly acclaimed for her performances in the works of Richard Wagner and was considered one of the leading sopranos of her generation.
While less common in English-speaking countries, the name Nicholette has maintained a presence in French culture and literature over the centuries, with its origins rooted in the ancient Greek name Nikolaos and its associations with strength and conquering.
People
Nicholette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nicholette 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
Nicholette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nicholette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,194 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nicholette 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 287,064 US residents.
Is Nicholette a common name?
We classify Nicholette as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,290 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nicholette most popular?
The single biggest year for Nicholette was 1993, when 74 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nicholette is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nicholette in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,074 people with the name Nicholette, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,785 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 Nicholette 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 Nicholette?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nicholette appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,082 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Nicholette?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicholette is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (13.8%) and Hispanic (13.5%). 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 Nicholette most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nicholette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.8% (674 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 Nicholette in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nicholette a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nicholette 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 Nicholette still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nicholette 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 Nicholette 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 are called Nicholette?
Want to know how many people share the name Nicholette? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.