2000
#13,985
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,980
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Nicodemus
A surname of Greek origin meaning "victory of the people," derived from the Greek words "nike" (victory) and "demos" (people).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,402 Americans carry the last name Nicodemus. That puts it at #13,814 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 142,695 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nicodemus 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
2.4K
1 in 142,695
Census rank
#13,814
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,095 bearers of the surname Nicodemus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13814th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nicodemus, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nicodemus
The surname Nicodemus is of Greek origin, derived from the personal name Nikodemos, which is a compound of the Greek words "nike" meaning "victory" and "demos" meaning "people." It is believed to have originated in the Byzantine Empire, around the 4th or 5th century CE.
In its early form, the name was often spelled as Nicodemos or Nicodimus. It gained prominence in Europe during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions with strong Greek cultural influences, such as parts of Italy, France, and the Balkans.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Nicodemus can be found in the Domesday Book, a medieval census commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Nicodemus" in the records for Lincolnshire, England.
During the Renaissance period, the surname Nicodemus gained further recognition, particularly in Italy. One notable bearer of the name was Nicodemus Frischlin (1547-1590), a German scholar, poet, and playwright who studied and worked in Italy.
In the 17th century, the name appeared in various spellings, such as Nicodeme and Nicodeme, in French records. A famous bearer of the name from this period was Nicodemus Tessin the Elder (1615-1681), a Swedish architect and the first of the Tessin family of architects.
The 18th century saw the emergence of several notable individuals with the surname Nicodemus. One such individual was Nicodemus Musnicki (1700-1781), a Polish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.
In the 19th century, the name Nicodemus gained prominence in the United States. One of the most well-known bearers of the name was Nicodemus (c. 1819-1904), a former slave who became a prominent leader and educator in the African American community in West Virginia.
Another notable bearer of the surname Nicodemus during this period was Nicodemus Peffer (1850-1924), an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nicodemus
Among Census respondents with the surname Nicodemus, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Nicodemus 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 Nicodemus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.6% · 1,835
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 83
- Two or more races3.8% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 70
- Black or African American1.0% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nicodemus
Nicodemus 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
#14,227
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,108
+128 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 242 places
2020
#13,814
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,095
-13 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Up 413 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,985 | 1,980 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,227 | 2,108 | 0.71 | +128 bearers (+6.5%) | Down 242 places |
| 2020 | #13,814 | 2,095 | 0.70 | -13 bearers (-0.6%) | Up 413 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 Nicodemus 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 | #14,227 | #13,814 | 2.9% |
| Count | 2,108 | 2,095 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.70 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nicodemus bearers went from 2,108 to 2,095 (-0.6% change). The surname moved up 413 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,227 to #13,814.
FAQ
Nicodemus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nicodemus?
Name Census estimates that about 2,402 living Americans carry the surname Nicodemus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 142,695 residents.
How common is Nicodemus?
Nicodemus ranks #13,814 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 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 2,095 people with the surname Nicodemus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,402), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 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 Nicodemus.
Has Nicodemus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nicodemus went from 2,108 recorded bearers to 2,095. That is a decrease of 13 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,227 to #13,814.
What does the Census say about the background of Nicodemus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nicodemus, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Nicodemus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (1,835 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nicodemus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.0%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Nicodemus (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 Nicodemus mean?
A surname of Greek origin meaning "victory of the people," derived from the Greek words "nike" (victory) and "demos" (people). 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 Nicodemus (0.70 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 Nicodemus?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Nicodemus on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.