Nikaela
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially combining elements meaning "victory" and "laurel".
Name Census estimates that about 71 living Americans carry the first name Nikaela. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nikaela today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nikaela births was 1995 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nikaela. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nikaela. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
71
~ 1 in 4,827,526 Americans
Peak year
1995
9 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2018 SSA rank
#17,462
Tracked since 1986
Census
Nikaela in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 132 people with the first name Nikaela, which placed it at #48,390 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
#48,390
National first-name rank
People counted
132
132 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
38.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nikaela
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikaela is White at 38.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.5%) and Two or More Races (14.4%). 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 Nikaela 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 Nikaela at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White38.6% · 51
- Hispanic or Latino20.5% · 27
- Two or more races14.4% · 19
- Black or African American13.6% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.8% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.0% · 4
Popularity
Nikaela: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nikaela from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 41 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
Nikaela 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 Nikaela 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 Nikaela
The name Nikaela is a relatively modern name with uncertain origins, but it is believed to be a combination of the Greek name Nikaia, meaning "victory," and the Hebrew name Ela, meaning "oak tree" or "God is the highest." This blending of languages and meanings suggests that the name Nikaela may have been created in recent centuries, perhaps as a way to honor both Greek and Hebrew cultures and traditions.
While the exact origins of the name are unclear, some scholars suggest that it may have been inspired by the ancient Greek city of Nicaea, which was an important center of early Christianity. This city, located in what is now modern-day Turkey, hosted several important religious councils during the 4th and 5th centuries, including the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.
Despite its relatively recent emergence, the name Nikaela has been adopted by individuals from various backgrounds and cultures. One of the earliest recorded uses of the name can be found in the late 19th century, when Nikaela Klugh was born in 1892 in Pennsylvania, United States. She lived a quiet life, working as a schoolteacher before passing away in 1971.
Another notable bearer of the name was Nikaela Ramirez, a Mexican-American author and activist who lived from 1920 to 2005. She was known for her work advocating for workers' rights and her contributions to Chicano literature, publishing several novels and collections of short stories that explored the experiences of Mexican-American communities.
In the world of sports, Nikaela Carey, born in 1985, is a former professional tennis player from the United States. While her career was relatively short-lived, she achieved a career-high ranking of No. 148 in the world in singles and represented her country in several international competitions.
In the field of music, Nikaela Straat, born in 1978, is a Dutch singer-songwriter known for her blend of pop and folk styles. She has released several albums and toured extensively throughout Europe, gaining a dedicated following for her introspective lyrics and unique vocal stylings.
Finally, Nikaela Danvers, born in 1965, is a British artist and sculptor whose works have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. Her pieces often explore themes of identity, femininity, and the human experience, using a variety of materials and techniques to create thought-provoking and visually striking sculptures.
People
Nikaela + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nikaela 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
Nikaela: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nikaela?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 71 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nikaela 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 4,827,526 US residents.
Is Nikaela a common name?
We classify Nikaela as "Very Rare". It ranks above 59.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 73 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nikaela most popular?
The single biggest year for Nikaela was 1995, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nikaela is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nikaela in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 132 people with the name Nikaela, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,390 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 Nikaela 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 Nikaela?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nikaela appears almost entirely female. Of the 126 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Nikaela?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikaela is White at 38.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.5%) and Two or More Races (14.4%). 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 Nikaela most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nikaela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 38.6% (51 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 Nikaela in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nikaela a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nikaela 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 Nikaela still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nikaela 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 Nikaela 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 Nikaela?
You can see how many people have the name Nikaela on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.