Nicoli
A masculine given name derived from Nicholas, originating from Greek meaning "victory of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 468 living Americans carry the first name Nicoli. It is a predominantly male name (91.2% of registrations). The average person named Nicoli today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nicoli births was 2008 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nicoli. 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
468
~ 1 in 732,381 Americans
Peak year
2008
29 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,237
Tracked since 1954
Census
Nicoli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 567 people with the first name Nicoli, which placed it at #18,871 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
#18,871
National first-name rank
People counted
567
567 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nicoli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicoli is White at 54.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.5%) and Black (12.5%). 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 Nicoli 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 Nicoli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.3% · 308
- Hispanic or Latino23.5% · 133
- Black or African American12.5% · 71
- Two or more races6.0% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Nicoli
Nicoli leans heavily male at 91.2% of total registrations, but 42 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nicoli as a male name
- Ranked #10,566 in 2024
- 7 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (29 births)
Nicoli as a female name
- Ranked #10,237 in 1985
- 6 female births in 1985
- Peak: 1973 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nicoli on both sides of the split. Of the 561 people counted with this name, 443 were male (79.0%) and 118 were female (21.0%).
Popularity
Nicoli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nicoli from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 193 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nicoli 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 Nicoli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nicolis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nicoli
The name Nicoli originates from the Greek language and is a variant of the name Nicholas. It traces its roots back to the Ancient Greek name Nikolaos, which was derived from the words "nikan" meaning "to conquer" and "laos" meaning "people." The name Nikolaos was popularized by St. Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian saint known for his acts of kindness and generosity.
In the Byzantine Empire, the name Nikolaos was widely used and had several variants, including Nicoli. This form of the name was particularly common among the Greek-speaking populations of the empire. As the Byzantine Empire expanded and influenced other regions, the name Nicoli spread to various parts of Europe and the Middle East.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Nicoli can be found in medieval Italian records, where it was used as a variant of the Italian name Niccolò. In the 13th century, the renowned Italian poet and philosopher Dante Alighieri mentioned a character named Niccolò de' Salimbeni in his famous work, the Divine Comedy.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nicoli. In the 15th century, Nicoli di Piero Lamberti was an Italian painter active in Florence. In the 16th century, Nicoli Ormanetto was an Italian Catholic cardinal and diplomat who served as the papal nuncio to various European courts.
In the 18th century, Nicoli Piccinni was an Italian composer who made significant contributions to the development of opera. His works were highly regarded and influenced subsequent generations of composers.
During the 19th century, Nicoli Demidov was a Russian philanthropist and art collector who amassed a remarkable collection of artworks, including ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, which he later donated to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
In the 20th century, Nicoli Gedda was a renowned Swedish operatic tenor known for his performances in operas by composers such as Verdi, Puccini, and Massenet. He had a prolific career spanning over six decades and was celebrated for his vocal mastery and interpretations.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Nicoli throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Nicoli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nicoli 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
Nicoli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nicoli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 468 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nicoli 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 732,381 US residents.
Is Nicoli a common name?
We classify Nicoli 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, 478 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nicoli most popular?
The single biggest year for Nicoli was 2008, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nicoli 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 Nicoli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 567 people with the name Nicoli, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,871 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 Nicoli 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 Nicoli?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nicoli on both sides of the split. Of the 561 people counted with this name, 443 were male (79.0%) and 118 were female (21.0%). 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 Nicoli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicoli is White at 54.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (23.5%) and Black (12.5%). 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 Nicoli most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nicoli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.3% (308 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 Nicoli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nicoli a male name?
Yes, 91.2% of people registered as Nicoli 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 Nicoli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nicoli 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 Nicoli 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 Americans are named Nicoli?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.