Nikolay
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "victory of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 487 living Americans carry the first name Nikolay. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nikolay today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nikolay births was 2010 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nikolay. 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
487
~ 1 in 703,808 Americans
Peak year
2010
32 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,172
Tracked since 1992
Popularity
Nikolay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nikolay from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 219 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Nikolay remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nikolay 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 Nikolay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nikolays live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Nikolay, while Washington, Texas, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nikolay
The name Nikolay has its origins in the Greek language, derived from the combination of the words "niko" meaning "victory" and "laos" meaning "people." It is a masculine name that has been widely used across various cultures and time periods.
The earliest recorded use of the name Nikolay can be traced back to the 4th century AD, when it was given to Saint Nicholas of Myra, a Christian saint known for his generosity and kindness towards children. Saint Nicholas was a Greek Christian bishop who lived in the ancient Greek city of Myra, located in modern-day Turkey.
In the Byzantine Empire, the name Nikolay became popular among the ruling classes and was often bestowed upon princes and nobles. One notable example is Nikolay I Mystikos, a Byzantine patriarch who lived in the 9th century AD and played a significant role in the development of the Orthodox Christian Church.
During the Middle Ages, the name Nikolay spread across Europe and was adopted by various cultures and languages. In Russia, the name took on the form "Nikolai" and became a popular choice among the Russian nobility and royalty. One of the most famous Russian tsars, Nicholas II, born in 1868, was given this name.
The name Nikolay has also been associated with several prominent figures in literature and the arts. Nikolay Gogol, a Ukrainian-born Russian novelist and playwright (1809-1852), is renowned for his satirical works such as "Dead Souls" and "The Government Inspector." Another notable figure is Nikolay Leskov, a Russian novelist and short story writer (1831-1895), known for his realistic depictions of Russian life.
In the field of science, Nikolay Vavilov (1887-1943) was a prominent Soviet botanist and geneticist who made significant contributions to the study of plant genetics and the origins of cultivated plants. Nikolay Semyonov (1896-1986) was a Russian chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1956 for his work on the mechanism of chemical reactions.
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) was a renowned Russian composer and a member of the influential group of composers known as "The Five." His works, such as the orchestral suite "Scheherazade," are considered masterpieces of Russian Romantic music.
The name Nikolay has been carried through generations, transcending cultural boundaries and leaving an indelible mark on various aspects of human civilization, from religion and literature to science and the arts.
People
Nikolay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nikolay 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
Nikolay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nikolay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 487 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nikolay 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 703,808 US residents.
Is Nikolay a common name?
We classify Nikolay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 492 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nikolay most popular?
The single biggest year for Nikolay was 2010, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nikolay is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Nikolay a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nikolay 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.