Find out how popular the last name Nicholes is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Nicholes.

Nicholes, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Nicholes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nicholes in America

Nicholes is the 16968th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nicholes surname appeared 1,675 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Nicholes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nicholes to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Nicholes

The surname Nicholes originates from England, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the medieval given name Nicholas, which was derived from the Greek name Nikolaos, meaning "victory of the people." The name Nicholas was popular in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when it was brought over by Norman settlers.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Nicholes can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Hertfordshire in 1194, where a Henry Nicholes is mentioned. Other early records include the Curia Regis Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1207, which reference a William Nicholes, and the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1240, mentioning a Thomas Nicholes.

In the 13th century, the surname was found in various parts of England, with different spellings such as Nicholes, Nicholls, and Nicolls. Some of these variations likely stemmed from different regional dialects or scribal errors in record-keeping.

One notable bearer of the surname was Sir Edward Nicholes (c.1555-1626), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Arundel from 1597 to 1626. Another prominent figure was John Nicholes (c.1607-1678), an English Puritan minister who served as the rector of St. Giles' Church in Cripplegate, London.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Nicholes was also associated with several place names, such as Nicholes Green in Hertfordshire and Nicholes Farm in Oxfordshire. These place names likely derived from individuals with the surname who owned or lived in those areas.

Other notable individuals with the surname Nicholes include Thomas Nicholes (c.1550-1624), an English clergyman and theologian who served as the Dean of Chester Cathedral, and William Nicholes (c.1590-1655), an English mathematician and astronomer who made contributions to the development of logarithms.

While the surname Nicholes is not as common as some other English surnames, it has a long and rich history, spanning several centuries and including individuals from various walks of life, from politicians and clergymen to scientists and academics.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nicholes

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Nicholes.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Nicholes was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Nicholes has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Nicholes was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Nicholes, please contact us.

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