Nicholous
Masculine Greek name derived from Nikolaos, meaning "victorious people".
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the first name Nicholous. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nicholous today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nicholous births was 1978 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nicholous. 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
124
~ 1 in 2,764,148 Americans
Peak year
1978
9 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1999 SSA rank
#7,660
Tracked since 1978
Census
Nicholous in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 145 people with the first name Nicholous, which placed it at #46,211 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
#46,211
National first-name rank
People counted
145
145 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nicholous
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicholous is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (10.3%). 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 Nicholous 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 Nicholous at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.8% · 91
- Black or African American21.4% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino10.3% · 15
- Two or more races5.5% · 8
Popularity
Nicholous: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nicholous from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 65 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Nicholous remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nicholous 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 Nicholous during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nicholous
Nicholous is a masculine given name with origins traced back to the Greek language. It derives from the word "Nikolaos," which is a combination of the words "niko," meaning "victory," and "laos," meaning "people." The name can be translated to mean "victory of the people" or "conqueror of the people."
In its early history, the name Nicholous was primarily used in the Greek-speaking regions of the Mediterranean, particularly in Greece and Asia Minor. It gained widespread popularity after the 4th century AD, when Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children and sailors, became a revered figure in Christianity.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Nicholous can be found in ancient Greek texts and historical records from the Byzantine Empire. The name was also mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible, where it referred to a proselyte from Antioch who was among the first non-Jewish followers of Christianity.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nicholous. One of the most famous was Nicholous Copernicus (1473-1543), the Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who proposed the heliocentric model of the solar system, which placed the Sun at the center of the universe.
Another prominent figure was Nicholous of Cusa (1401-1464), a German philosopher, theologian, and mathematician who made significant contributions to the fields of science and philosophy during the Renaissance period.
In the realm of literature, Nicholous Rowe (1674-1718) was an English poet, playwright, and translator who is best known for his adaptations of classical Greek and Roman plays.
The name Nicholous also had a strong presence in the world of art. Nicholous Poussin (1594-1665) was a French Baroque painter who is renowned for his classically inspired works depicting mythological and biblical scenes.
In the field of music, Nicholous Lanier (1588-1666) was an English composer and musician who served as a court musician to King Charles I and is credited with introducing the bass viol to England.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Nicholous, reflecting its enduring presence across various cultures and disciplines.
People
Nicholous + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nicholous 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
Nicholous: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nicholous?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 124 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nicholous 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 2,764,148 US residents.
Is Nicholous a common name?
We classify Nicholous as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 129 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nicholous most popular?
The single biggest year for Nicholous was 1978, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nicholous is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nicholous in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 145 people with the name Nicholous, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,211 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 Nicholous 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 Nicholous?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nicholous appears almost entirely male. Of the 145 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Nicholous?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicholous is White at 62.8%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (10.3%). 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 Nicholous most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nicholous in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.8% (91 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 Nicholous in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nicholous a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nicholous 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.
Is Nicholous still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nicholous 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 Nicholous 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 common is the name Nicholous?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.