2000
#8,826
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,418
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.27
Rare Last name
Nichol
A Scottish and English toponymic surname derived from locations meaning "at the nichol," likely referring to a devil's nook.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,760 Americans carry the last name Nichol. That puts it at #9,484 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 91,158 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nichol surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Nichol with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.8K
1 in 91,158
Census rank
#9,484
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,279 bearers of the surname Nichol in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9484th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nichol, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nichol
The surname Nichol has its origins in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It is derived from the Old English personal name "Nicol", which itself is derived from the Greek name "Nikolaos", meaning "victory of the people". The name Nichol is thought to have first appeared in England sometime around the 11th century, shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
The earliest known recorded instance of the name Nichol can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror. It lists a person named "Nicol de Villers" as holding lands in Oxfordshire.
Over the centuries, the name Nichol has been spelled in various ways, including Nicholl, Nicoll, Nicolls, and Nickoll. These variations likely stem from differences in local dialects and the preferences of individual scribes who recorded the name.
One notable bearer of the name Nichol was Sir John Nichol (1590-1667), a Scottish judge and politician who served as Lord Advocate of Scotland during the reign of Charles I. Another was John Pringle Nichol (1804-1859), a Scottish astronomer and professor at the University of Glasgow.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nichol can be found in the records of the Virginia Company, which oversaw the settlement of the Virginia colony in the early 17th century. In 1623, a man named John Nichol is listed as having arrived in Virginia aboard the ship "Swanne".
Other notable individuals with the surname Nichol include John Nichol (1833-1894), a Scottish poet and journalist, and Donald Nichol (1923-1997), a British-American artist and writer who was known for his work in the fields of surrealism and abstract expressionism.
Overall, the surname Nichol has a rich history that spans multiple centuries and cultures, with its roots firmly planted in the Anglo-Saxon traditions of medieval England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nichol
Among Census respondents with the surname Nichol, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Hispanic (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Nichol bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Nichol surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 2,862
- Black or African American4.1% · 133
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 131
- Two or more races3.4% · 113
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nichol
Nichol appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,754
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,323
-95 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Down 928 places
2020
#9,484
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,279
-44 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 1.10
Rank movement Up 270 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,826 | 3,418 | 1.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,754 | 3,323 | 1.13 | -95 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 928 places |
| 2020 | #9,484 | 3,279 | 1.10 | -44 bearers (-1.3%) | Up 270 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Nichol surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,754 | #9,484 | 2.8% |
| Count | 3,323 | 3,279 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.10 | -2.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nichol bearers went from 3,323 to 3,279 (-1.3% change). The surname moved up 270 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,754 to #9,484.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Nichol
FAQ
Nichol surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nichol?
Name Census estimates that about 3,760 living Americans carry the surname Nichol. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 91,158 residents.
How common is Nichol?
Nichol ranks #9,484 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,279 people with the surname Nichol. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,760), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Nichol.
Has Nichol become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nichol went from 3,323 recorded bearers to 3,279. That is a decrease of 44 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,754 to #9,484.
What does the Census say about the background of Nichol?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nichol, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.1%) and Hispanic (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Nichol in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (2,862 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nichol appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Black (4.1%), Hispanic (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Nichol (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Nichol mean?
A Scottish and English toponymic surname derived from locations meaning "at the nichol," likely referring to a devil's nook. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Nichol (1.10 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Nichol?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Nichol, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.