Nyklaus
A German masculine name derived from Nicholaus, meaning "people's victory".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Nyklaus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nyklaus today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nyklaus births was 2018 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nyklaus. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nyklaus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2018
5 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2018 SSA rank
#13,559
Tracked since 2018
Popularity
Nyklaus: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Nyklaus 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 Nyklaus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Nyklaus
The name Nyklaus originates from the ancient Greek language and culture, dating back to around the 5th century BC. It is derived from the Greek word "nikē," meaning "victory," and "laos," meaning "people." As such, the name Nyklaus can be interpreted to mean "victory of the people" or "victor among the people."
This name was relatively uncommon in ancient Greek texts and historical records, but it did appear in a few instances. One notable example is Nyklaus of Miletus, a Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th century BC and was known for his contributions to the study of metaphysics and logic.
The name Nyklaus gained more widespread use during the Byzantine Empire, which ruled over much of the Mediterranean region from the 4th to the 15th century AD. During this time, the name was often associated with military leaders and commanders who had achieved great victories on the battlefield.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Nyklaus comes from the 6th century, when a Byzantine general named Nyklaus Belisarius led the armies of Emperor Justinian I in a series of successful campaigns against the Persians and the Vandals. Belisarius was widely celebrated for his military prowess and is considered one of the greatest generals in Byzantine history.
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, the name Nyklaus continued to be used, albeit with various spelling variations such as Nikolaus, Nikolaos, and Niccolò. Several notable individuals bore this name, including Nyklaus Cusanus (1401-1464), a German philosopher and theologian who made significant contributions to the intellectual life of the 15th century.
Another famous bearer of the name was Nyklaus Copernicus (1473-1543), the Polish astronomer and mathematician whose revolutionary theory of a heliocentric universe challenged the prevailing geocentric model and laid the foundations for modern astronomy.
In the 16th century, Nyklaus Machiavelli (1469-1527), an Italian Renaissance diplomat, philosopher, and writer, became widely renowned for his seminal work "The Prince," which explored the nature of political power and the means to acquire and maintain it.
During the 17th century, the name Nyklaus was associated with Nyklaus Steno (1638-1686), a Danish pioneer in the fields of anatomy, geology, and stratigraphy, whose principles of stratigraphy helped establish the foundations of modern geology.
These are just a few examples of the notable individuals who have borne the name Nyklaus throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures, time periods, and fields of endeavor.
People
Nyklaus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nyklaus 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
Nyklaus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nyklaus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nyklaus 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Nyklaus a common name?
We classify Nyklaus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nyklaus most popular?
The single biggest year for Nyklaus was 2018, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nyklaus is about 8 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 Nyklaus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nyklaus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nyklaus 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 Nyklaus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nyklaus 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 Nyklaus 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 many people have Nyklaus as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Nyklaus, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.