Nikola
Feminine form of the Greek name Nikolaos meaning "victory of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 3,900 living Americans carry the first name Nikola. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 83.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Nikola today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nikola births was 2020 (159 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nikola. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nikola with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.9K
~ 1 in 87,886 Americans
Peak year
2020
159 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,594
Tracked since 1948
Census
Nikola in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,179 people with the first name Nikola, which placed it at #3,813 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
#3,813
National first-name rank
People counted
5.2K
5,179 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nikola
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikola is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Nikola 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 Nikola at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 4,566
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 269
- Two or more races3.5% · 182
- Black or African American1.7% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 68
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Nikola
Nikola leans heavily male at 83.7% of total registrations, but 651 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nikola as a male name
- Ranked #1,594 in 2024
- 108 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (151 births)
Nikola as a female name
- Ranked #14,746 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1972 (20 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nikola leans strongly male. 4,391 people counted with this name were male (84.8%), compared with 786 female bearers (15.2%).
Popularity
Nikola: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nikola from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,329 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nikola remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nikola 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 Nikola during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nikolas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. Illinois, California, New York recorded the most babies named Nikola, while Oregon, Nevada, Tennessee recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 83 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nikola
The name Nikola has its origins in the Greek language and is derived from the Greek word 'Nikolaos', which means 'victor of the people'. It is a combination of the Greek words 'nikos', meaning 'victory', and 'laos', meaning 'people'. The name has been in use since ancient times and can be traced back to the 3rd century AD.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Nikola can be found in the writings of the early Christian Church. Saint Nicholas of Myra, a 4th-century bishop and patron saint of children, is one of the most well-known historical figures with this name. He was born around 270 AD in Patara, a city in modern-day Turkey, and is renowned for his generosity and kindness.
Another prominent figure in history with the name Nikola was Nikola Tesla, the Serbian-American inventor, and electrical engineer. Born in 1856 in the village of Smiljan, now part of modern-day Croatia, Tesla is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electrical supply system and for his work in the field of electromagnetism.
In the realm of science, Nikola Zherav (1828-1915) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and educator who played a significant role in the national revival movement in Bulgaria during the 19th century. He established the first modern Bulgarian school in Strelcha in 1835 and is celebrated as one of the founders of the modern Bulgarian education system.
The name Nikola also has a strong presence in the world of literature. Nikola Vaptsarov (1909-1942) was a renowned Bulgarian poet and communist revolutionary. His works were highly influential in shaping the literary landscape of Bulgaria and his poems were widely popular during the communist era.
In the field of sports, Nikola Pekovic (born 1986) is a former professional basketball player from Montenegro. He played for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA and was known for his physical presence and rebounding abilities on the court.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Nikola throughout history. The name has endured across different cultures and time periods, reflecting its rich heritage and enduring popularity.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Nikola
People
Nikola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nikola 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
Nikola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nikola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,900 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nikola 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 87,886 US residents.
Is Nikola a common name?
We classify Nikola as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,992 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nikola most popular?
The single biggest year for Nikola was 2020, when 159 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nikola is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nikola in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,179 people with the name Nikola, or 1.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,813 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 Nikola 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 Nikola?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nikola leans strongly male. 4,391 people counted with this name were male (84.8%), compared with 786 female bearers (15.2%). 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 Nikola?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikola is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.2%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Nikola most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nikola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (4,566 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 Nikola in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nikola a male name?
Yes, 83.7% of people registered as Nikola 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 Nikola still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nikola 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 Nikola 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 Nikola?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.