Nickalaus
Meaning "victor of the people" deriving from Greek elements.
Name Census estimates that about 271 living Americans carry the first name Nickalaus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nickalaus today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nickalaus births was 1991 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nickalaus. 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
271
~ 1 in 1,264,776 Americans
Peak year
1991
17 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2006 SSA rank
#8,537
Tracked since 1976
Census
Nickalaus in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 195 people with the first name Nickalaus, which placed it at #38,993 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
#38,993
National first-name rank
People counted
195
195 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
72.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nickalaus
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nickalaus is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Nickalaus 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 Nickalaus at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.8% · 142
- Black or African American14.4% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 13
- Two or more races4.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 4
Popularity
Nickalaus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nickalaus from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 112 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Nickalaus remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nickalaus 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 Nickalaus 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 Nickalaus
The name Nickalaus is derived from the Greek name Nikolaos, which is a compound of the words "niko" meaning "victory" and "laos" meaning "people". It was popularized in the early Christian era, gaining widespread usage across Europe and beyond.
The name Nikolaos was borne by several saints and historical figures in the early centuries of Christianity. The most famous bearer was Saint Nicholas, the 4th-century Bishop of Myra in modern-day Turkey, whose legendary generosity and kindness inspired the modern-day figure of Santa Claus.
The variant spelling Nickalaus emerged in Germanic-speaking regions, particularly in Germany and the Low Countries, during the Middle Ages. It was likely influenced by the Old German name Nikkil, which shared a similar meaning and root.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Nickalaus was Nickalaus von Wyle, a 15th-century German scholar and diplomat who served as the imperial chancellor for Emperor Frederick III. Another notable bearer was Nickalaus Gerbel, a 16th-century German humanist and scholar known for his work in promoting the ideas of the Reformation.
In the realm of art, the name Nickalaus was borne by Nickalaus Gerhaert, a 15th-century German painter and engraver who was active in the Swabian region of southern Germany. In the field of science, Nickalaus Copernicus, the 16th-century Polish astronomer, is perhaps the most famous bearer of the name. His groundbreaking work on the heliocentric model of the solar system revolutionized our understanding of the universe.
Another notable individual with the name Nickalaus was Nickalaus von Flüe, a 15th-century Swiss hermit and ascetic who is revered as a patron saint of Switzerland. His life of piety and devotion inspired many during his lifetime and in the centuries that followed.
While the name Nickalaus has waxed and waned in popularity over the centuries, it continues to be used as a given name, particularly in German-speaking regions and among those with Germanic heritage. Its rich historical connections and associations with figures of significance make it a name with a storied past.
People
Nickalaus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nickalaus 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
Nickalaus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nickalaus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 271 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nickalaus 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 1,264,776 US residents.
Is Nickalaus a common name?
We classify Nickalaus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 281 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nickalaus most popular?
The single biggest year for Nickalaus was 1991, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nickalaus is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nickalaus in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 195 people with the name Nickalaus, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,993 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 Nickalaus 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 Nickalaus?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nickalaus appears almost entirely male. Of the 201 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Nickalaus?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nickalaus is White at 72.8%. The next largest groups are Black (14.4%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Nickalaus most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nickalaus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.8% (142 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 Nickalaus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nickalaus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nickalaus 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 Nickalaus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nickalaus 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 Nickalaus 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 Nickalaus as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Nickalaus on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.