Nikea
A name of Greek origin meaning "victory."
Name Census estimates that about 309 living Americans carry the first name Nikea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nikea today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nikea births was 1984 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nikea. 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
309
~ 1 in 1,109,237 Americans
Peak year
1984
24 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2004 SSA rank
#18,049
Tracked since 1975
Census
Nikea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 304 people with the first name Nikea, which placed it at #29,229 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
#29,229
National first-name rank
People counted
304
304 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nikea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikea is Black at 71.4%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) 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 Nikea 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 Nikea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.4% · 217
- White14.8% · 45
- Two or more races6.6% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 4
Popularity
Nikea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nikea from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 144 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nikea 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 Nikea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nikeas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nikea
The name Nikea is of Greek origin, derived from the word "nike," meaning "victory" in ancient Greek. Its roots can be traced back to the mythological goddess Nike, the personification of victory in Greek mythology.
The earliest recorded use of the name Nikea can be found in ancient Greek texts, where it was often given to female children as a way to bestow upon them the blessings of triumph and success. In the 5th century BCE, the Greek historian Herodotus mentioned a woman named Nikea in his writings, suggesting the name's usage during that period.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Nikea was a Greek woman who lived in the 4th century BCE. She was a renowned philosopher and mathematician, known for her contributions to the field of geometry. Unfortunately, little is known about her life beyond her intellectual pursuits.
In the Byzantine era, Nikea held particular significance as it was the name of a city located in the northwestern region of modern-day Turkey. The city played a crucial role in the history of the Byzantine Empire and was the site of several important ecclesiastical councils.
During the Middle Ages, the name Nikea gained popularity among Orthodox Christian communities, particularly in Eastern Europe and Russia. This was likely due to its association with the concept of victory, which resonated with the spirit of religious and military conquests of that era.
In the 12th century, a Russian princess named Nikea was known for her philanthropy and patronage of the arts. She founded several monasteries and churches, leaving a lasting legacy in the cultural and religious landscape of medieval Russia.
Another notable figure was Nikea of Thessaloniki, a 14th-century Byzantine saint renowned for her piety and miraculous healings. She is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is celebrated on November 23rd.
In the Renaissance period, the name Nikea was revived among humanist scholars who drew inspiration from classical Greek literature and culture. One such figure was Nikea Mirabilis, a 16th-century Italian poet and writer who gained recognition for her lyrical compositions.
As the name Nikea spread across different cultures and regions, its spelling and pronunciation variations emerged, such as Nikia, Nikeia, and Nikaya. However, the core meaning of "victory" remained consistent throughout its evolution.
People
Nikea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nikea 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
Nikea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nikea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 309 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nikea 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 1,109,237 US residents.
Is Nikea a common name?
We classify Nikea as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 328 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nikea most popular?
The single biggest year for Nikea was 1984, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nikea is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nikea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 304 people with the name Nikea, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,229 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 Nikea 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 Nikea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nikea leans strongly female. 286 people counted with this name were female (95.7%), compared with 13 male bearers (4.3%). 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 Nikea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikea is Black at 71.4%. The next largest groups are White (14.8%) 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 Nikea most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Nikea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.4% (217 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 Nikea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nikea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nikea 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 Nikea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nikea 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 Nikea 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 have Nikea as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.