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
1999 · 25,639 births
Debut · boys
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#100rank188019001920194019601980200020202022peak #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 2022

girls
#13,592
6 births · 1 in 273,355 girls
boys
#97
3,643 births · 1 in 479 boys

Top girls' names in 2022

  1. #1Olivia16,670
  2. #2Emma14,512
  3. #3Charlotte12,952
  4. #4Amelia12,415
  5. #5Sophia12,382
  6. #6Isabella11,761
  7. #7Ava11,107
  8. #8Mia11,077
  9. #9Evelyn9,332
  10. #10Luna8,977
  11. #13,592Nicholas6

Top boys' names in 2022

  1. #1Liam20,579
  2. #2Noah18,758
  3. #3Oliver15,176
  4. #4James12,119
  5. #5Elijah12,094
  6. #6William11,356
  7. #7Henry11,272
  8. #8Lucas10,973
  9. #9Benjamin10,912
  10. #10Theodore10,824
  11. #97Nicholas3,643
More about 2022

girls

1,640,131 girls got a published name in 2022; 1 in 273,355 of them was named Nicholas, which outranked 23.5% of the 17,760 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 7.4% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Nicholas
  1. #12,243Zylia7
  2. #12,243Zyliah7
  3. #12,243Zyniah7
  4. #13,592Nicholas6
  5. #13,592Aadhyareddy6
  6. #13,592Aagna6
  7. #13,592Aaiza6
  8. #15,306Aabha5
  9. #15,306Aadhvi5
  10. #15,306Aailani5

Tied with 1,713 names at #13,592; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 2021
Risers
  1. 698Wrenlee#1,410#712
  2. 686Neriah#1,680#994
  3. 487Arlet#1,229#742
  4. 424Georgina#1,304#880
  5. 413Amiri#1,293#880
Fallers
  1. 282Tatiana#992#1,274
  2. 245Alaiya#721#966
  3. 239Aarna#967#1,206
  4. 231Jaylene#975#1,206
  5. 227Aviana#521#748

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

boys

1,746,008 boys got a published name in 2022; 1 in 479 of them was named Nicholas, which outranked 99.3% of the 14,333 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 7.7% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Nicholas
  1. #94Parker3,861
  2. #95Greyson3,773
  3. #96Rowan3,763
  4. #97Nicholas3,643
  5. #98Theo3,642
  6. #99Adam3,638
  7. #100Xavier3,618
Biggest movers since 2021
Risers
  1. 988Dutton#1,823#835
  2. 489Kayce#1,076#587
  3. 412Chosen#1,307#895
  4. 396Khaza#1,230#834
  5. 348Eithan#849#501
Fallers
  1. 324Jacoby#885#1,209
  2. 243Turner#937#1,180
  3. 233Aydin#897#1,130
  4. 218Juelz#991#1,209
  5. 216Jamal#868#1,084

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

See the top 100 for 2022