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

Nicolas, 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 Nicolas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nicolas in America

Nicolas is the 3951st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nicolas surname appeared 9,006 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Nicolas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nicolas 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 Nicolas

The surname Nicolas is of French origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Christian name Nicholas, which comes from the Greek name Nikolaos, meaning "victory of the people." The name was widely used in France during the medieval period and was often given to children in honor of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Nicolas can be found in the Domesday Book, a record of landowners in England compiled by order of William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions a landowner named Nicolaus, which was likely a variant spelling of the French surname Nicolas.

In the 13th century, the surname Nicolas appeared in various records throughout France, often associated with families from the northern regions of the country. One notable example is Philippe de Nicolas, a 13th-century French knight who fought in the Crusades.

During the Renaissance period, the surname Nicolas gained prominence with the birth of Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543), the famous Polish astronomer who revolutionized the understanding of the solar system by proposing the heliocentric model.

Another notable figure with the surname Nicolas was Claude Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806), a French architect and urban planner who designed many iconic buildings in Paris, including the Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans.

In the 19th century, the surname Nicolas was associated with several prominent artists and writers, such as Adolphe Nicolas (1803-1887), a French painter known for his historical and religious works, and Auguste Nicolas (1807-1876), a French poet and dramatist.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname Nicolas in modern times was Nicolas de Staël (1914-1955), a French painter known for his abstract expressionist works and his influence on the art world of the mid-20th century.

Throughout history, the surname Nicolas has been prevalent in various regions of France, with some variations in spelling, such as Nicolle, Nicolleau, and Nicolet. These variations often reflected regional dialects or local traditions in naming conventions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nicolas

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

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 Nicolas 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 Nicolas 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 Nicolas was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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