Nicolasa
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "victorious people".
Name Census estimates that about 431 living Americans carry the first name Nicolasa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nicolasa today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nicolasa births was 1920 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nicolasa. 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
431
~ 1 in 795,254 Americans
Peak year
1920
43 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2016 SSA rank
#15,699
Tracked since 1891
Census
Nicolasa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,178 people with the first name Nicolasa, which placed it at #5,415 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
#5,415
National first-name rank
People counted
3.2K
3,178 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
96.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nicolasa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicolasa is Hispanic at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%) and White (0.9%). 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 Nicolasa 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 Nicolasa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.3% · 3,059
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 72
- White0.9% · 29
- Black or African American0.2% · 7
- Two or more races0.2% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Popularity
Nicolasa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nicolasa from the 1890s through to the 2010s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 288 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nicolasa 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 Nicolasa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nicolasas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nicolasa
Nicolasa is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the name Nicholas, which itself comes from the Greek words "Nikē" meaning "victory" and "Laos" meaning "people". The name can be traced back to the 3rd century AD and is associated with the saint and Christian martyr, Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, merchants, and children.
The name Nicolasa first appeared in written records during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions where Greek and Latin cultures intermingled, such as parts of Italy, Spain, and parts of the former Byzantine Empire. It was a popular name among Christian families who sought to honor the venerated Saint Nicholas.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Nicolasa was Nicolasa de la Cruz, a Spanish mystic and writer who lived in the 16th century (1543-1617). She was known for her spiritual visions and wrote extensively about her experiences, leaving behind a valuable record of religious life in 16th-century Spain.
Another notable figure was Nicolasa Heliana Barreto, a Spanish-Peruvian freedom fighter who fought against Spanish colonial rule in Peru in the late 18th century (c. 1760-1822). She played a crucial role in the rebellion led by Túpac Amaru II, a major uprising against the Spanish Empire.
In the 19th century, Nicolasa Vicentina de la Cruz was a Mexican painter and educator who lived from 1833 to 1904. She was one of the first female artists to be recognized in Mexico and played a significant role in promoting art education for women.
Nicolasa Mogas y Nogués was a Spanish painter and engraver who lived from 1784 to 1880. She was known for her portraits and religious paintings, and her works are preserved in several museums across Spain.
Lastly, Nicolasa Ruiz de Velasco was a Spanish noblewoman and landowner who lived in the 16th century (c. 1530-1605). She was a prominent figure in the city of Seville and played a role in establishing several religious institutions and charitable organizations.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Nicolasa, a name with roots in Greek culture and Christian tradition, and one that has been carried by notable figures across various fields and time periods.
People
Nicolasa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nicolasa 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
Nicolasa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nicolasa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 431 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nicolasa 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 795,254 US residents.
Is Nicolasa a common name?
We classify Nicolasa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,127 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nicolasa most popular?
The single biggest year for Nicolasa was 1920, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nicolasa is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nicolasa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,178 people with the name Nicolasa, or 1.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,415 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 Nicolasa 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 Nicolasa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nicolasa appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,179 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Nicolasa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicolasa is Hispanic at 96.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%) and White (0.9%). 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 Nicolasa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Nicolasa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.3% (3,059 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 Nicolasa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nicolasa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nicolasa 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.
Is Nicolasa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nicolasa 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 Nicolasa 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 Nicolasa?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.