Nikholas
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "victory of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 147 living Americans carry the first name Nikholas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nikholas today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nikholas births was 2011 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nikholas. 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
147
~ 1 in 2,331,662 Americans
Peak year
2011
13 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,742
Tracked since 1987
Popularity
Nikholas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nikholas from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 62 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nikholas 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 Nikholas 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 Nikholas
The name Nikholas derives from the Greek name Nikolaos, which is a combination of the words "nikē" meaning "victory" and "laos" meaning "people." It has its origins in the late 3rd century BC, during the Hellenistic period in ancient Greece.
The name Nikolaos gained widespread popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition. It was the name of several prominent saints, including Saint Nicholas of Myra, the 4th-century bishop known for his generosity and as the inspiration for the modern-day Santa Claus figure.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Nikholas can be found in the writings of the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea, who lived in the 6th century AD. He mentions a general named Nikholas who served under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nikholas. One of the most famous was Nikholas Copernicus (1473-1543), the Renaissance astronomer who formulated the heliocentric model of the solar system, revolutionizing our understanding of the universe.
Another significant Nikholas was Nikholas II of Russia (1868-1918), the last tsar of the Russian Empire, whose reign was marked by political unrest and the events that led to the Bolshevik Revolution and the end of the Romanov dynasty.
In the realm of literature, Nikholas Rowe (1674-1718) was an English playwright and poet laureate known for his adaptations of classical tragedies, while Nikholas Nickleby is the titular character in Charles Dickens' novel "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby."
The name Nikholas has also been borne by several artists and musicians, including the American painter Nikholas Krushenick (1929-1999), known for his abstract expressionist works, and the British singer-songwriter Nikholas Mulvey (born 1988), who has gained critical acclaim for his folk-rock compositions.
People
Nikholas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nikholas 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
Nikholas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nikholas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 147 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nikholas 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 2,331,662 US residents.
Is Nikholas a common name?
We classify Nikholas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 149 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nikholas most popular?
The single biggest year for Nikholas was 2011, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nikholas is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Nikholas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nikholas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nikholas 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 Nikholas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nikholas 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 Nikholas 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Nikholas?
Want to know how many people share the name Nikholas? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.