Nicolai
Masculine given name derived from Greek meaning "victory of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 1,784 living Americans carry the first name Nicolai. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nicolai today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nicolai births was 2015 (78 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nicolai. 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 Nicolai with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 192,127 Americans
Peak year
2015
78 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,581
Tracked since 1962
Census
Nicolai in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,821 people with the first name Nicolai, which placed it at #8,077 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
#8,077
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,821 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nicolai
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicolai is White at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.9%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Nicolai 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 Nicolai at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.1% · 1,130
- Hispanic or Latino20.9% · 380
- Two or more races6.6% · 120
- Black or African American4.8% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 78
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 26
Popularity
Nicolai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nicolai from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 607 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nicolai remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nicolai 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 Nicolai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nicolais live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Nicolai, while Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 54 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nicolai
Nicolai is a masculine given name with Greek origins, derived from the word "Nikolaos" which translates to "victor of the people." The name dates back to ancient Greek times and was later adopted by various cultures and languages.
The name Nicolai gained widespread popularity during the spread of Christianity, as it was borne by St. Nicholas, the 4th-century Christian saint who was the inspiration for the modern-day Santa Claus. St. Nicholas was known for his generosity and became the patron saint of children, sailors, and many other groups.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nicolai can be found in the Byzantine Empire, where it was a common name among the nobility. The name also gained popularity in Russia, where it was often used by the Romanov dynasty.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Nicolai. One of the most famous was Nicolai Copernicus (1473-1543), the Renaissance-era mathematician and astronomer who formulated the heliocentric model of the solar system, which placed the Sun at the center.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), a Russian composer and a member of the influential group of composers known as "The Five." He is best known for his orchestral works, such as Scheherazade and the Russian Easter Overture.
In the realm of literature, Nicolai Gogol (1809-1852) was a Ukrainian-born Russian novelist and playwright, renowned for his satirical works, including "Dead Souls" and "The Government Inspector."
The name Nicolai also has a significant presence in the world of science. Nicolai Tesla (1856-1943) was a Serbian-American inventor and electrical engineer, best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electrical supply system.
Finally, Nicolai Hartmann (1882-1950) was a German philosopher and a prominent figure in the phenomenological movement. He is best known for his work "Ethics," which explored the foundations of moral philosophy.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals who have borne the name Nicolai throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various fields and cultures.
People
Nicolai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nicolai 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
Nicolai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nicolai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,784 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nicolai 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 192,127 US residents.
Is Nicolai a common name?
We classify Nicolai as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,813 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nicolai most popular?
The single biggest year for Nicolai was 2015, when 78 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nicolai is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nicolai in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,821 people with the name Nicolai, or 0.60 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,077 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 Nicolai 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 Nicolai?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nicolai leans strongly male. 1,785 people counted with this name were male (98.1%), compared with 34 female bearers (1.9%). 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 Nicolai?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicolai is White at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.9%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Nicolai most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nicolai in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.1% (1,130 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 Nicolai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nicolai a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nicolai 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 Nicolai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nicolai 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 Nicolai 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 share the name Nicolai?
You can see how many people share the name Nicolai on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.