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

Nikolić, 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 Nikolić surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nikolić in America

Nikolić is the 24137th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nikolić surname appeared 1,042 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Nikolić.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nikolić 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 Nikolić

The surname Nikolic originated in Serbia, dating back to the 14th century. It is a patronymic surname derived from the personal name Nikola, which is the Serbian variant of the name Nicholas, meaning "victory of the people." The name Nikolic likely emerged as a way to distinguish families by indicating their relationship to an ancestor named Nikola.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Nikolic can be found in medieval Serbian documents and manuscripts. One notable example is a charter issued by Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović in 1389, which mentions a certain Nikola Nikolić as a witness. This document provides evidence of the surname's existence in Serbia during the late 14th century.

In the 15th century, the name Nikolic appeared in various Serbian chronicles and records, including the Genealogy of the Serbian Despots, which mentions several individuals bearing the surname. One of the most prominent figures was Nikola Nikolić, a Serbian nobleman and military commander who served under Despot Stefan Lazarević in the early 15th century.

During the Ottoman occupation of Serbia, the surname Nikolic remained prevalent among Serbian families. In the 17th century, a notable bearer of the name was Nikola Nikolić, a Serbian merchant and philanthropist who funded the construction of several churches and monasteries in Belgrade and its surroundings.

As the Serbian diaspora spread across Europe and beyond, the surname Nikolic gained a broader geographical distribution. In the 19th century, a notable figure was Nikola Nikolić, a Serbian writer and journalist who played a significant role in the Serb national revival movement in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Other notable individuals with the surname Nikolic include Nikola Nikolić (1840-1888), a Serbian linguist and philologist who made significant contributions to the study of the Serbian language; Nikola Nikolić (1852-1920), a Serbian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Serbia; and Nikola Nikolić (1964-), a Serbian professional football player and manager.

While the origin and early history of the surname Nikolic are closely tied to Serbia, it has since become a common surname among various Slavic populations, particularly in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nikolić

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

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

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

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