ninan.org

Nicholas

Boys' name · Millennial-era perennial

Living in the US
~847,600 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#112 among boys
Births in 2025
3,123 929,199 since 1880
Typical age
32 years, median

Nicholas popularity over time

Nicholas rank by birth year, 1880–2025Nicholas ranked #177 in 1880 and #112 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #5, in 1999.#10#100#112best #5 in 199918901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

1995 is the peak year for Nicholas, with 29,216 births. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. Nicholas has spent 51 years inside the national top 100.

The 2025 position is #112, on 3,123 births. The ten-year change is -50%.

Babies named Nicholas per yearPeaks at 29,216 births in 1995.29,216 in 1995018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Nicholas?

An estimated 847,600 living Americans are called Nicholas. SSA has recorded 929,199 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Nicholas?

The typical living Nicholas is 32 years old. Most living bearers were born in the 1990s. By the site’s era rules that makes Nicholas a millennial-era perennial name.

Your Nicholas

Ages of living people named NicholasHalf of living Nicholass are older than 32 and half younger.median 32020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Nicholas is most common

The name is concentrated in Rhode Island, at 2.7× the national rate. Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware follow.

Where Nicholas is used more than average5 states use the name Nicholas more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: 2.1× the national rateNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: 2.6× the national rateNJConnecticut: 2.6× the national rateCTRhode Island: 2.7× the national rateRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: 2.2× the national rateDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Nicholas is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Rhode Island 197 2.7×
Connecticut 809 2.6×
New Jersey 2,416 2.6×
Delaware 145 2.2×
New York 4,466 2.1×

Nicholas in England and Wales

ONS recorded 234 births named Nicholas in 2025, ranking it #214. That is 23% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Nicholas comes from

From Middle English Nicholas, from Old French Nicholas, from Latin Nīcolāus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Nicholas

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Nicholas Hoult English actor 1989 77
Nicholas Sparks American writer and novelist 1965 63
Nicholas Murray Butler American philosopher, diplomat, and educator 1862–1947 55
Nicholas Winton British stockbroker who saved 669 Jewish children during 1938–39 1909–2015 55
Nicholas I of Montenegro Prince and King of Montenegro 1841–1921 49
Nicholas Ray American film director 1911–1979 47
Nicholas Latifi Canadian racing driver 1995 41
Nicholas Galitzine British actor 1994 40
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 6,105 in 1977 to 16,450 in 1978 — 2.7 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/nicholas.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).