Nikko
From Japanese roots meaning "sunlight" and "tree", suggestive of bright beauty.
Name Census estimates that about 4,476 living Americans carry the first name Nikko. It is a predominantly male name (96.1% of registrations). The average person named Nikko today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nikko births was 2021 (216 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nikko. 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
- • Although Nikko is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 177 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
4.5K
~ 1 in 76,576 Americans
Peak year
2021
216 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,289
Tracked since 1970
Gender
Gender distribution for Nikko
Nikko leans heavily male at 96.1% of total registrations, but 177 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nikko as a male name
- Ranked #1,289 in 2024
- 152 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (216 births)
Nikko as a female name
- Ranked #17,061 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1972 (16 births)
Popularity
Nikko: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nikko from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,395 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nikko remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nikko 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 Nikko during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nikkos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. California, Illinois, Texas recorded the most babies named Nikko, while Louisiana, Indiana, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 94 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nikko
The name Nikko is believed to have originated from Japan, derived from the Japanese word "nikko," which means "sunlight" or "sunshine." This name has been in use in Japan for centuries, often associated with the beautiful city of Nikko in the Tochigi Prefecture, known for its stunning shrines and temples.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nikko dates back to the 12th century, when a Buddhist monk named Nikko Shonin (1118-1193) founded the Nikko Toshogu Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.
In Japanese literature, the name Nikko appears in several historical texts and records. For instance, the "Nikko Mandara," a 16th-century painting depicting the city of Nikko, is a significant artistic representation of the name.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Nikko. One such individual was Nikko Niwano (1899-1999), a renowned Japanese Buddhist philosopher and the founder of the Rissho Kosei-kai, a lay Buddhist organization. Another prominent figure was Nikko Hoshi (1910-2002), a Japanese actor and director known for his work in Kabuki theater.
In the realm of sports, Nikko Jenkins (1991-present) is an American professional basketball player who has played in various leagues around the world, including the NBA G League and international teams in Japan and Australia.
Additionally, the name Nikko has been associated with various artistic and cultural endeavors. Nikko Munoz (1964-present) is an American painter and sculptor known for his vibrant and colorful works, while Nikko Hurtado (1979-present) is a renowned American tattoo artist renowned for his detailed and intricate designs.
It is worth noting that while the name Nikko is primarily associated with Japan, it has gained popularity in other parts of the world as well, often used as a unisex name or as a variant of the name Nicholas or Nicole in certain cultures.
People
Nikko + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nikko 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
Nikko: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nikko?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,476 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nikko 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 76,576 US residents.
Is Nikko a common name?
We classify Nikko as "Rare". It ranks above 96.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,550 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nikko most popular?
The single biggest year for Nikko was 2021, when 216 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nikko is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nikko a male name?
Yes, 96.1% of people registered as Nikko 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.
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.