Nikolaos
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "victory of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 1,963 living Americans carry the first name Nikolaos. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nikolaos today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nikolaos births was 2014 (57 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nikolaos. 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
2.0K
~ 1 in 174,607 Americans
Peak year
2014
57 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,772
Tracked since 1962
Popularity
Nikolaos: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nikolaos from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 447 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nikolaos remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nikolaos 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 Nikolaos during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nikolaos' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Nikolaos, while Connecticut, Ohio, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 78 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nikolaos
Nikolaos is a masculine given name of Greek origin, derived from the words "nikos" meaning "victory" and "laos" meaning "people." The name can be translated as "victor of the people" or "victorious among the people."
The name has its roots in ancient Greek culture and can be traced back to the 5th century BC. It was a popular name among the ancient Greeks and was often associated with military prowess and leadership qualities.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in the writings of the Greek historian Thucydides, who mentions a Nikolaos of Syracuse in his work "The Peloponnesian War." The name also appears in various ancient Greek inscriptions and texts.
In the Christian tradition, the name gained significance due to its association with Saint Nicholas, the 4th-century bishop of Myra (in present-day Turkey) and the inspiration for the modern-day Santa Claus. Saint Nicholas was known for his generosity and kindness, particularly towards children.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Nikolaos, including:
1. Nikolaos of Damascus (c. 64 BC - c. 4 BC), a Greek philosopher, historian, and tutor to the Roman emperor Augustus.
2. Nikolaos Mouzalon (c. 1265 - c. 1315), a Byzantine scholar and philosopher who served as the chief minister to the Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos.
3. Nikolaos Kabasilas (c. 1322 - c. 1392), a Byzantine theologian and mystic who wrote extensively on the liturgy and sacraments of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
4. Nikolaos Mavrokordatos (1670 - 1730), a Greek scholar, diplomat, and Prince of Wallachia (a historical region in present-day Romania).
5. Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos (1851 - 1927), a Greek military officer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 1916 to 1917.
The name Nikolaos continues to be popular in various forms across different cultures and languages, such as Nicholas in English, Nicolás in Spanish, and Nicola in Italian, reflecting the widespread influence of Greek culture and the enduring appeal of this historic name.
People
Nikolaos + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nikolaos 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
Nikolaos: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nikolaos?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,963 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nikolaos 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 174,607 US residents.
Is Nikolaos a common name?
We classify Nikolaos as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,020 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nikolaos most popular?
The single biggest year for Nikolaos was 2014, when 57 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nikolaos is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nikolaos a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nikolaos 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.