Nickolus
From the Greek name Nikolaos, meaning "victory of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 465 living Americans carry the first name Nickolus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nickolus today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nickolus births was 1998 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nickolus. 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
465
~ 1 in 737,106 Americans
Peak year
1998
23 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2014 SSA rank
#11,716
Tracked since 1977
Census
Nickolus in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 378 people with the first name Nickolus, which placed it at #25,170 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
#25,170
National first-name rank
People counted
378
378 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nickolus
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nickolus is White at 61.9%. The next largest groups are Black (15.3%) and Hispanic (14.6%). 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 Nickolus 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 Nickolus at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.9% · 234
- Black or African American15.3% · 58
- Hispanic or Latino14.6% · 55
- Two or more races4.0% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 8
Popularity
Nickolus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nickolus from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 164 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
Nickolus 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 Nickolus 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 Nickolus
The name Nickolus is a variant spelling of the Greek name Nikolaos, which derives from the words "niko" meaning "victory" and "laos" meaning "people". It has its origins in the 3rd century BCE in ancient Greece. The name is believed to have first been used for the 4th century saint and bishop of Myra, Saint Nicholas, who was renowned for his secret gift-giving and became the inspiration for the modern-day Santa Claus figure.
The name Nickolus gained popularity across Europe in the Middle Ages, particularly in regions with Greek cultural influences, such as Italy and parts of the Byzantine Empire. It was often associated with religious figures and scholars, as well as members of the nobility and ruling classes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nickolus can be found in the 12th century, referring to Nickolus of Myra, a Greek monk and scholar who wrote extensively on theology and philosophy. Another notable figure was Nickolus of Cusa, a 15th century German philosopher and theologian, born in 1401 and known for his contributions to the Renaissance humanist movement.
During the Renaissance period, the name Nickolus became more widespread, with several notable figures bearing the name. This includes Nickolus Copernicus, the famous 16th century Polish astronomer (1473-1543) who revolutionized our understanding of the solar system with his heliocentric model.
In the realm of literature, the name Nickolus is associated with Nickolus Udall, an English playwright and cleric from the 16th century (1504-1556), who is credited with introducing the concept of comedy to English drama.
Another prominent figure was Nickolus Culpeper, an English botanist, herbalist, and physician (1616-1654), who made significant contributions to the field of herbology and published influential works on medicinal plants.
Through the centuries, the name Nickolus has maintained its presence, although it has become less common in modern times, with variations like Nicholas and Nikolai being more widely used. Nonetheless, it remains a name deeply rooted in history, carrying with it a rich cultural and religious heritage.
People
Nickolus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nickolus 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
Nickolus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nickolus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 465 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nickolus 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 737,106 US residents.
Is Nickolus a common name?
We classify Nickolus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 479 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nickolus most popular?
The single biggest year for Nickolus was 1998, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nickolus is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nickolus in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 378 people with the name Nickolus, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,170 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 Nickolus 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 Nickolus?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nickolus appears almost entirely male. Of the 381 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Nickolus?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nickolus is White at 61.9%. The next largest groups are Black (15.3%) and Hispanic (14.6%). 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 Nickolus most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nickolus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.9% (234 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 Nickolus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nickolus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nickolus 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 Nickolus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nickolus 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 Nickolus 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 named Nickolus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.