Nicko
A diminutive or masculine form of the name Nicholas, derived from the Greek meaning "victor of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 286 living Americans carry the first name Nicko. It is a predominantly male name (97.3% of registrations). The average person named Nicko today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nicko births was 1989 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nicko. 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 Nicko with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
286
~ 1 in 1,198,442 Americans
Peak year
1989
25 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2023 SSA rank
#6,380
Tracked since 1972
Census
Nicko in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 424 people with the first name Nicko, which placed it at #23,170 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
#23,170
National first-name rank
People counted
424
424 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
27.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nicko
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicko is Black at 27.8%. The next largest groups are White (26.2%) and Hispanic (24.5%). 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 Nicko 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 Nicko at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American27.8% · 118
- White26.2% · 111
- Hispanic or Latino24.5% · 104
- Asian and Pacific Islander16.5% · 70
- Two or more races3.3% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Nicko
Nicko leans heavily male at 97.3% of total registrations, but 8 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nicko as a male name
- Ranked #8,715 in 2023
- 9 male births in 2023
- Peak: 1989 (25 births)
Nicko as a female name
- Ranked #6,380 in 1972
- 8 female births in 1972
- Peak: 1972 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nicko leans strongly male. 387 people counted with this name were male (91.9%), compared with 34 female bearers (8.1%).
Popularity
Nicko: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nicko from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 102 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
Nicko 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 Nicko during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nickos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nicko
The name Nicko is a diminutive form of the name Nicholas, which has its origins in the Greek language. The name Nicholas is derived from the Greek words "nikan" meaning "to conquer" and "laos" meaning "people". It is believed to have emerged as a name during the Hellenistic period in ancient Greece, around the 3rd century BC.
The name Nicholas gained significant popularity due to its association with Saint Nicholas, the 4th-century Christian saint and Greek bishop of Myra in present-day Turkey. Saint Nicholas was renowned for his generosity and is the basis for the modern-day Santa Claus tradition. His feast day, celebrated on December 6th, contributed to the widespread use of the name across Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nicko can be found in the 12th-century epic poem "Nibelungenlied", a work of Germanic heroic legend. The poem features a character named Nicko, a faithful warrior and companion to the legendary hero Siegfried.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nicko. One such figure was Nicko McBrain (born 1952), the English drummer and longtime member of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. McBrain has been with the band since 1982 and is renowned for his powerful drumming style.
Another significant figure was Nicko Miljanic (1917-2012), a Croatian-American architect and designer. Miljanic was known for his innovative designs and contributions to the mid-century modern architectural movement in the United States.
In the realm of sports, Nicko Cochrane (born 1982) is a former Scottish footballer who played as a defender for various clubs, including Hibernian and St. Mirren, during the early 2000s.
Nicko Toristi (1950-2011) was an Italian artist and sculptor renowned for his abstract and minimalist works. His sculptures were featured in numerous exhibitions across Europe and the United States.
Lastly, Nicko Williamson (born 1953) is a Scottish actor known for his roles in various television series and films, including "Taggart," "Outlander," and "The Descent."
People
Nicko + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nicko 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
Nicko: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nicko?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 286 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nicko 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 1,198,442 US residents.
Is Nicko a common name?
We classify Nicko as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 292 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nicko most popular?
The single biggest year for Nicko was 1989, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nicko is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nicko in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 424 people with the name Nicko, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,170 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 Nicko 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 Nicko?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nicko leans strongly male. 387 people counted with this name were male (91.9%), compared with 34 female bearers (8.1%). 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 Nicko?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicko is Black at 27.8%. The next largest groups are White (26.2%) and Hispanic (24.5%). 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 Nicko most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nicko in the 2020 Census, accounting for 27.8% (118 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 Nicko in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nicko a male name?
Yes, 97.3% of people registered as Nicko 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 Nicko still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nicko 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 Nicko 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 Nicko?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.