Nicholas

#10,917 for girls in 2025, 8 births · #112 for boys in 2025, 3,115 births
Given to boys 99.7% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
#5
1999 · 25,639 births
Debut · boys
1880
73 births
In top 100 · boys
51 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
926,047
since 1880

Nicholas over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201981peak #5, 1999boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#10,9178#1123,115
2024—#1173,038
2023—#1093,261
2022#13,5926#973,643
2021—#923,866
2020#15,0885#874,065
2019#11,3568#784,642
2018—#744,847
2017#14,1246#685,372
2016#14,3316#635,765
2015#13,0067#626,263
2014#8,96612#576,779
2013#8,58013#547,147
2012#12,1998#497,742
2011#7,78315#428,601
2010#9,79011#379,653
2009#7,06618#3210,856
2008#6,35021#2912,533
2007#8,52014#2014,362
2006#7,48216#1715,675
2005#5,26624#1517,076
2004#2,37072#1318,519
2003#3,29144#1219,696
2002#3,46139#921,390
2001#3,70335#622,849
2000#3,40439#624,653
1999#3,24539#525,639
1998#3,22238#626,632
1997#2,51151#627,258
1996#2,45152#627,724
1995#2,34556#729,160
1994#2,07966#927,770
1993#1,65391#828,114
1992#1,79880#1227,762
1991#1,76681#1227,357
1990#1,97469#1427,913
1989#1,288122#1428,230
1988#1,132135#1425,303
1987#983160#1623,247
1986#1,097135#1722,800
1985#957162#1922,384
1984#988146#2021,017
1983#1,037135#2119,891
1982#1,058136#2219,643
1981#1,114124#2119,775
1980#1,030139#1721,018
1979#1,012140#1521,344
1978#1,169108#2516,342
1977#2,51534#516,071
1976#3,40720#773,466
1975#2,96924#813,319
1974#3,21221#803,218
1973#3,78716#853,153
1972#3,71416#992,843
1971#3,06222#1232,608
1970#6,3627#1232,704
1969#5,4568#1232,577
1968#3,31516#1182,548
1967#3,84512#1302,288
1966#5,2737#1392,139
1965#5,2897#1492,068
1964—#1582,069
1963#4,27210#1552,130
1962—#1552,144
1961#4,8828#1582,078
1960—#1532,298
1959#5,5666#1562,196
1958#4,1939#1532,189
1957#4,9187#1522,197
1956#5,3256#1472,212
1955#4,3768#1412,186
1954#3,49011#1342,368
1953#5,6735#1312,359
1952—#1272,343
1951—#1202,388
1950—#1242,176
1949#5,2445#1361,998
1948#5,2435#1421,929
1947—#1431,935
1946—#1441,675
1945#4,0256#1511,357
1944—#1501,361
1943#4,1966#1481,434
1942—#1421,500
1941#3,9546#1461,212
1940—#1541,102
1939—#1561,032
1938#4,3425#161989
1937—#159935
1936—#157929
1935—#158911
1934—#165873
1933#3,4067#160888
1932#3,9016#163925
1931#3,2268#1451,103
1930#2,30614#1471,131
1929#2,43713#1421,192
1928#3,7437#1401,216
1927#2,69912#1371,272
1926#2,25716#1331,319
1925#4,0287#1331,332
1924#2,66113#1221,488
1923#4,9675#1201,468
1922#4,0117#1221,414
1921#4,4646#1141,553
1920#4,3986#1241,354
1919#3,8177#1221,321
1918—#1131,488
1917#4,0836#1091,412
1916#3,5527#1071,419
1915—#1041,427
1914—#1021,151
1913—#110796
1912—#113676
1911—#120308
1910—#137235
1909—#133204
1908—#113226
1907—#143161
1906—#143144
1905—#171112
1904—#177102
1903—#18490
1902—#156112
1901—#16888
1900—#19995
1899—#19669
1898—#17294
1897—#17787
1896—#156106
1895—#18784
1894—#19277
1893—#16289
1892—#16695
1891—#16478
1890—#17578
1889—#19168
1888—#15797
1887—#15779
1886—#16285
1885—#19566
1884—#19369
1883—#17471
1882—#19366
1881—#20356
1880—#17773
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Nicholas was already there! It came in at #177, and was given to 73 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 1880–1885, when fewer than 74 boys a year got the name.

See more about Nicholas
Momentum · boys
Falling
  • 5 spots since 2024 (#117 → #112)
  • 25 spots since 2020 (#87 → #112)
  • 50 spots since 2015 (#62 → #112)
  • Biggest jump: 33 spots in 1886 (#195 → #162)
  • Biggest drop: 34 spots in 1889 (#157 → #191)
Rise & fade · boys
119 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1999 at #5 (25,639 births)
  • Births halved by 2008, 9 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 10 for 10 yrs
  • Top 10: 10 yrs · run 1993–2002
  • Top 100: 51 yrs · run 1972–2022
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 65
  • Highest: 1 in 65 boys born in 1995 were named Nicholas (1.5%)
  • Latest: 1 in 548 boys born in 2025 (0.18%)
  • Its best rank, #5 in 1999, was only 1 in 75 (1.3%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1990s
  • 29.7% of all boys named Nicholas (275,329) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s730#157 (1888)#180
1890s857#156 (1896)#175
1900s1,334#113 (1908)#159
1910s10,233#102 (1914)#114
1920s13,608#114 (1921)#129
1930s9,716#145 (1931)#157
1940s15,503#136 (1949)#146
1950s22,614#120 (1951)#139
1960s22,339#118 (1968)#144
1970s65,068#15 (1979)#76
1980s223,308#14 (1989)#18
1990s275,329#5 (1999)#9
2000s177,609#6 (2000)#16
2010s66,811#37 (2010)#58
2020s20,988#87 (2020)#102

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Nicholas in 1981

girls
#1,114
124 births · 1 in 13,452 girls
boys
#21
19,775 births · 1 in 91 boys

Top girls' names in 1981

  1. #1Jennifer57,046
  2. #2Jessica42,531
  3. #3Amanda34,372
  4. #4Sarah28,175
  5. #5Melissa28,005
  6. #6Amy20,345
  7. #7Nicole20,310
  8. #8Stephanie20,212
  9. #9Elizabeth20,168
  10. #10Heather17,946
  11. #1,114Nicholas124

Top boys' names in 1981

  1. #1Michael68,750
  2. #2Christopher50,221
  3. #3Matthew43,330
  4. #4Jason41,927
  5. #5David40,629
  6. #6Joshua39,024
  7. #7James38,283
  8. #8John34,868
  9. #9Robert34,395
  10. #10Daniel30,985
  11. #21Nicholas19,775
More about 1981

girls

1,668,060 girls got a published name in 1981; 1 in 13,452 of them was named Nicholas, which outranked 90.9% of the 12,198 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 17.3% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Nicholas
  1. #1,109Roseann125
  2. #1,109Samara125
  3. #1,109Sharita125
  4. #1,114Nicholas124
  5. #1,114Angelic124
  6. #1,114Ayanna124
  7. #1,114Bonita124
  8. #1,122Amberly123
  9. #1,122Ava123
  10. #1,122Denisha123

Tied with 7 names at #1,114; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1980
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,850Tashina#4,743 → #893
  2. ↑ 2,742Krystle#3,215 → #473
  3. ↑ 1,800Tierra#2,342 → #542
  4. ↑ 1,398Martine#2,189 → #791
  5. ↑ 999Nereida#1,981 → #982
Fallers
  1. ↓ 764Kylene#990 → #1,754
  2. ↓ 607Renada#708 → #1,315
  3. ↓ 560Ashanti#822 → #1,382
  4. ↓ 399Renata#336 → #735
  5. ↓ 395Tracee#959 → #1,354

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,791,177 boys got a published name in 1981; 1 in 91 of them was named Nicholas, which outranked 99.7% of the 7,289 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.6% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Nicholas
  1. #18Andrew20,232
  2. #19Brandon20,206
  3. #20Adam20,044
  4. #21Nicholas19,775
  5. #22Jeremy19,113
  6. #23Anthony18,569
  7. #24Timothy18,228
Biggest movers since 1980
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,321Marchello#2,162 → #841
  2. ↑ 1,104Skylar#2,058 → #954
  3. ↑ 816Kellen#1,432 → #616
  4. ↑ 499Marcello#1,291 → #792
  5. ↑ 456Tyrel#1,089 → #633
Fallers
  1. ↓ 306Kenyatta#871 → #1,177
  2. ↓ 284Seneca#718 → #1,002
  3. ↓ 247Kimberly#989 → #1,236
  4. ↓ 216Chadd#927 → #1,143
  5. ↓ 214Levar#911 → #1,125

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1981 →