Nickolai
Variation of the Greek name Nicholas, meaning "victory of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 517 living Americans carry the first name Nickolai. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nickolai today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nickolai births was 2015 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nickolai. 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
517
~ 1 in 662,968 Americans
Peak year
2015
31 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,573
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Nickolai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nickolai from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 213 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nickolai remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nickolai 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 Nickolai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nickolais live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nickolai
The given name Nickolai has its origins in the Greek name Nikolaos, which is derived from the elements niko, meaning "victory," and laos, meaning "people." Essentially, the name translates to "victory of the people." The name gained widespread popularity during the spread of Christianity and can be found in various ancient texts and records from the Byzantine Empire and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
In the 4th century AD, the name gained significant religious significance due to its association with Saint Nicholas, the 4th-century bishop of Myra, who was renowned for his generosity and kindness. His feast day on December 6th became a widely celebrated occasion, further promoting the name's popularity.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Nickolai can be traced back to the 9th century, particularly in areas with strong Eastern Orthodox Christian traditions, such as Russia, Bulgaria, and Serbia. It became a common name among the Russian nobility and royalty, with notable historical figures including Nickolai Gogol (1809-1852), the renowned Russian novelist and playwright.
Another prominent figure bearing the name was Nickolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), a highly influential Russian composer known for his orchestral works and operas, which were instrumental in shaping Russian classical music. His compositions, such as Scheherazade and Capriccio Espagnol, are considered masterpieces of the Romantic era.
In the realm of science, Nickolai Vavilov (1887-1943) was a prominent Russian botanist and geneticist who made significant contributions to the study of plant genetics and the origins of cultivated crops. His theories and research laid the foundation for modern plant breeding techniques.
During the Russian Revolution, Nickolai Bukharin (1888-1938) was a influential Bolshevik revolutionary and intellectual who played a prominent role in the early years of the Soviet Union. He served as the editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda and held various leadership positions within the Communist Party.
Another notable figure was Nickolai Yezhov (1895-1940), a Soviet secret police official who headed the NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) during the Great Purge of the late 1930s. He was responsible for overseeing the mass arrests and executions of countless individuals during this period of political repression.
People
Nickolai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nickolai 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
Nickolai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nickolai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 517 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nickolai 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 662,968 US residents.
Is Nickolai a common name?
We classify Nickolai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 523 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nickolai most popular?
The single biggest year for Nickolai was 2015, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nickolai is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nickolai a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nickolai 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.