Nikolia
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "victor of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 16 living Americans carry the first name Nikolia. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 68.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Nikolia today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nikolia births was 2015 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nikolia. 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 Nikolia with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nikolia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
16
~ 1 in 21,422,146 Americans
Peak year
2015
6 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2015 SSA rank
#11,691
Tracked since 2007
Gender
Gender distribution for Nikolia
Nikolia is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 16 total registrations, 11 (68.8%) were male and 5 (31.3%) were female.
Nikolia as a male name
- Ranked #11,691 in 2015
- 6 male births in 2015
- Peak: 2015 (6 births)
Nikolia as a female name
- Ranked #16,841 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 2020 (5 births)
Popularity
Nikolia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nikolia from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 6 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
Nikolia 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 Nikolia 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 Nikolia
The name Nikolia is a female given name of Greek origin, derived from the name Nikolaos, which is a compound of the Greek words "niko" meaning "victory" and "laos" meaning "people." The earliest recorded use of the name Nikolia dates back to the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century AD.
In ancient Greece, the name Nikolaos was often bestowed upon children as a wish for them to grow up to be victorious leaders of the people. The feminine form, Nikolia, emerged as a way to honor this tradition for baby girls. Over time, the name spread throughout the Eastern Orthodox Christian world and gained popularity in regions such as Russia, Bulgaria, and Serbia.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name Nikolia was Nikolia of Novgorod, a Russian noblewoman who lived in the 12th century and played a significant role in the political affairs of the Novgorod Republic. Another historical figure was Nikolia of Constantinople, a 13th-century Byzantine noble and philanthropist known for her charitable works and patronage of the arts.
In the 15th century, Nikolia Dragaš was a Serbian princess and the wife of Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. Her marriage played a pivotal role in strengthening the alliance between Serbia and the Byzantine Empire during the Ottoman conquests.
Nikolia Pavlovna, born in 1718, was a Russian noble and lady-in-waiting to Empress Catherine the Great. She is known for her memoirs, which provide valuable insights into the life of the Russian imperial court during the 18th century.
Nikolia Dimitrova, born in 1859 and died in 1934, was a Bulgarian educator and women's rights activist. She founded several schools and played a crucial role in promoting female education and empowerment in Bulgaria during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the name Nikolia has roots in antiquity, it has maintained its cultural significance and continues to be used in various parts of the world, particularly among Eastern Orthodox Christian communities and those with Greek or Slavic heritage.
People
Nikolia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nikolia 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
Nikolia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nikolia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nikolia 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 21,422,146 US residents.
Is Nikolia a common name?
We classify Nikolia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 36.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nikolia most popular?
The single biggest year for Nikolia was 2015, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nikolia is about 12 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 Nikolia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nikolia a male name?
Yes, 68.8% of people registered as Nikolia 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 Nikolia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nikolia 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 Nikolia 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 common is the name Nikolia?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Nikolia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.