Nicholas
Greek Nikolaos, “victory of the people.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
The fourth-century saint behind Santa Claus, revived strongly in the 1990s.
Nicholas appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1972 to 2022. It spent 10 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1995, when 29,160 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 7 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1999, at No. 5. In 2025 it ranked No. 112 for boys. All told, 929,199 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Nicolas (101,764), Nickolas (39,403), Nikolas (24,050), Nicklas (2,430), Niklas (1,711), Nicholes (879) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Nicole, Cole, Nichole
Explore Nicholas interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 730 | No. 157 |
| 1890s | 857 | No. 156 |
| 1900s | 1,334 | No. 113 |
| 1910s | 10,233 | No. 102 |
| 1920s | 13,608 | No. 114 |
| 1930s | 9,716 | No. 145 |
| 1940s | 15,503 | No. 136 |
| 1950s | 22,614 | No. 120 |
| 1960s | 22,339 | No. 118 |
| 1970s | 65,068 | No. 15 |
| 1980s | 223,308 | No. 14 |
| 1990s | 275,329 | No. 5 |
| 2000s | 177,609 | No. 6 |
| 2010s | 66,811 | No. 37 |
| 2020s | 20,988 | No. 87 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
🍼 Enjoying this? Buy my baby a diaper
Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.