2000
#14,084
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,961
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Nickle
An occupational surname for a nickname or descriptive name derived from the metal nickel or its color.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,221 Americans carry the last name Nickle. That puts it at #14,717 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 154,324 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nickle 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.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 154,324
Census rank
#14,717
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,937 bearers of the surname Nickle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14717th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nickle, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nickle
The surname Nickle is believed to have originated in Germany and parts of Eastern Europe in the late medieval period. It is derived from the German word "Nickel," which means "demon," "goblin," or "sprite." This suggests that the name may have been given as a nickname to someone with a mischievous or impish nature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the 14th century in the German city of Nürnberg, where a Konrad Nickele is mentioned in a local chronicle from 1376. The name is also found in various spellings, such as Nickel, Nickell, and Nickolls, in various regions of Germany and surrounding areas during this time.
In England, the name Nickle is believed to have been introduced by German immigrants in the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest known bearers of the name in England was Johann Nickle, a merchant from Hamburg who settled in London in the late 16th century.
Notable figures with the surname Nickle include:
1. Johann Evangelista Nickle (1705-1782), a German composer and musician who served as the court Kapellmeister in Kassel.
2. Wilhelm Nickle (1829-1896), a German-American artist and lithographer known for his landscape paintings and depictions of the American West.
3. Edith Nickle (1870-1948), an American educator and advocate for women's rights, who served as the first female president of Hunter College in New York City.
4. Hans Nickle (1895-1976), a Swiss chemist and inventor who developed the process for manufacturing synthetic rubber during World War II.
5. Friedrich Nickle (1920-2005), a German-born American theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to the study of quantum electrodynamics and the renormalization of field theories.
Throughout its history, the surname Nickle has undergone various spellings and variations, reflecting its journey across different regions and languages. While originating in German-speaking areas, the name has since spread to other parts of Europe and beyond, carried by migration and cultural exchange.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nickle
Among Census respondents with the surname Nickle, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Nickle 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 Nickle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 1,693
- Black or African American5.0% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 68
- Two or more races2.5% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nickle
Nickle 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
#13,834
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,185
+224 bearers (+11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Up 250 places
2020
#14,717
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,937
-248 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.65
Rank movement Down 883 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,084 | 1,961 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,834 | 2,185 | 0.74 | +224 bearers (+11.4%) | Up 250 places |
| 2020 | #14,717 | 1,937 | 0.65 | -248 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 883 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 Nickle 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 | #13,834 | #14,717 | -6.4% |
| Count | 2,185 | 1,937 | -11.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.65 | -12.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nickle bearers went from 2,185 to 1,937 (-11.4% change). The surname moved down 883 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,834 to #14,717.
FAQ
Nickle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nickle?
Name Census estimates that about 2,221 living Americans carry the surname Nickle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 154,324 residents.
How common is Nickle?
Nickle ranks #14,717 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.65 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 1,937 people with the surname Nickle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,221), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.65 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 Nickle.
Has Nickle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nickle went from 2,185 recorded bearers to 1,937. That is a decrease of 248 (-11.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,834 to #14,717.
What does the Census say about the background of Nickle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nickle, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Nickle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (1,693 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nickle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Black (5.0%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Nickle (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 Nickle mean?
An occupational surname for a nickname or descriptive name derived from the metal nickel or its color. 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 Nickle (0.65 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 share the surname Nickle?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.