Nicol
Variant of the feminine name Nicole, from the Greek name Nikolaos meaning "victorious people".
Name Census estimates that about 2,074 living Americans carry the first name Nicol. It is a predominantly female name (98.7% of registrations). The average person named Nicol today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nicol births was 1970 (130 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nicol. 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
2.1K
~ 1 in 165,262 Americans
Peak year
1970
130 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1973 SSA rank
#4,374
Tracked since 1956
Gender
Gender distribution for Nicol
Nicol leans heavily female at 98.7% of total registrations, but 28 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nicol as a male name
- Ranked #4,374 in 1973
- 7 male births in 1973
- Peak: 1973 (7 births)
Nicol as a female name
- Ranked #5,724 in 2024
- 22 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1970 (125 births)
Popularity
Nicol: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nicol from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 826 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nicol 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 Nicol during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nicols live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Nicol, while Minnesota, Indiana, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nicol
The name Nicol is derived from the Greek name Nikolaos, which is a combination of the words "nikan" meaning "to conquer" and "laos" meaning "people." This name originated in the 4th century BC and gained popularity due to its association with St. Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian saint known for his generosity and kindness towards children.
The name Nicol has been used throughout history in various cultures and regions. In the Middle Ages, it was commonly used in Western Europe, particularly in France, where it was spelled as "Nicole." One of the earliest recorded examples of this name is Nicole de Lorraine, a 13th-century noblewoman and the daughter of Duke Frederick II of Lorraine.
In the Byzantine Empire, the name Nikolaos was widely used, and several notable historical figures bore this name. One of the most famous was Nikolaos Mystikos, a 9th-century Patriarch of Constantinople who played a significant role in the theological debates of his time.
During the Renaissance period, the name Nicol gained popularity in Italy, where it was often spelled as "Niccolò." One of the most renowned individuals with this name was Niccolò Machiavelli, the famous 16th-century political philosopher and author of the influential work "The Prince."
In Scotland, the name Nicol was commonly used as a variant of Nicholas. Sir Nicol Kerdif, who lived in the 14th century, was a Scottish knight and ambassador who played a crucial role in negotiating the Treaty of Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1357.
Another notable figure with the name Nicol was Nicol Maffre, a 16th-century French mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry and the study of celestial bodies.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Nicol
People
Nicol + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nicol 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
Nicol: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nicol?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,074 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nicol 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 165,262 US residents.
Is Nicol a common name?
We classify Nicol as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,231 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nicol most popular?
The single biggest year for Nicol was 1970, when 130 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nicol is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nicol a female name?
Yes, 98.7% of people registered as Nicol in the SSA data are female. 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.