Nicholas
Top 1000
About Nicholas
Nicholas is derived from the Greek Nikolaos, a name that evolved from the components nikē, meaning "victory", and laos, "people." It shares origins with Nike, the name of the Greek goddess of victory. Nicholas is also a New Testament name that is well-used in literature, such as in Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby.
And then there's St. Nicholas who, in addition to bringing bags of toys once a year, is also the patron saint of schoolchildren, mechanics, sailors, scholars, brides, bakers, travelers, and Russia, where the name was a star of the czarist dynasty.
Nicholas, though it has lost some ground (it was in the Top 10 from 1993 to 2002), is still a popular classic that would make an attractive, solid choice.
Along with this historical depth, Nicholas, and nicknames Nick and Nicky, project an aura of masculine panache, and has long been a favorite of writers for rich boys, Romeos, thugs and detective characters.
Offshoots Cole and Colin have long had lives of their own. Short form Nico is hot and getting hotter.
Pronounced NIK-uh-lus.
As of October 2026, Nicholas ranked #112 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #5 in 1999, Nameberry popularity #155.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #57 | 6,779 | 3,529.1 |
| 2015 | #62 | 6,259 | 3,265.4 |
| 2016 | #63 | 5,763 | 3,036.8 |
| 2017 | #68 | 5,367 | 2,899.6 |
| 2018 | #74 | 4,843 | 2,666.6 |
| 2019 | #78 | 4,640 | 2,586.1 |
| 2020 | #87 | 4,065 | 2,355.1 |
| 2021 | #92 | 3,862 | 2,207.5 |
| 2022 | #97 | 3,639 | 2,084.2 |
| 2023 | #109 | 3,257 | 1,904 |
| 2024 | #118 | 3,025 | 1,755.8 |
| 2025 | #112 | 3,115 | 1,823.7 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Nicholas.
- Christopher
- Daniel
- Andrew
- Adam
- David
- Anthony
- Matthew
- Joseph
- Michael
- Nathaniel
- Joshua
- Samuel
- Zachary
- Nathan
- Jonathan
- Jacob
- Timothy
- Alexander
- Christian
- Thomas
Nicholas on lists
Famous Nicholass
- Saint Nicholas
4th,century Greek Bishop of Myra
- Nicholas I
IV, popes
- Nicholas I and II
Emperors of Russia
- Nicholas I (born Nikola Mirkov Petrović
Njegoš), King of Montenegro
- Nicholas of Cusa
German philosopher, theologian, jurist, and astronomer
- Nicholas Charles Sparks
American novelist
- Nicholas Jerry "Nick" Jonas
American musician
- Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg
Deputy British Prime Minister
- Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake
English singer,songwriter
- Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte
American actor
- Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Braun
American actor
- Nicholas Thompson "Nick" Swisher
American baseball player
- Nicholas Meyer
American screenwriter
- Nicholas Caradoc Hoult
English actor
- Nicholas Pegg
British actor, director, and writer
- Nicholas Briggs
English actor, writer and director
- Nicholas James MacDonald Patrick
British,American astronaut
- Nicholas Scott "Nick" Lachey
American singer and TV personality
- Nicholas John "Nick" Frost
English actor, comedian, and screenwriter
- (Benjamin) Nicholas "Nick" Monroe
American tennis player
- Nicholas Peter Andrew "Nick" Grimshaw
English radio DJ
- (Christopher) Nicholas Parsons
English radio and TV presenter
- Nicholas Heath
Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor
- Nicholas "Nick" Valensi
American musician
- Nicholas John "Nick" Robinson
American actor
- Nicholas Komor
American fashion designer
- Nicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon
American actor and TV presenter
- Nicholas Edward Gonzalez
American actor
- Nicholas James "Nick" Adenhart
American baseball player
- Nicholas "Nicky" McDonald
Scottish singer
- Nicholas Aaron "Nick" Young
American basketballer
- Nicholas Louis "Nick" Noonan
American musician
- Nicholas Hugh "Nick" Brown
British Member of Parliament
- Nicholas Fred "Nick" DeCarbo
American NFL player
- Nicholas Allen "Nick" Masset
American baseball player
- Nicholas Tatambuka
birth name of Nick Nola, Ugandan singer
- Nicholas George "Nick" Roman
American NFL player
- Nicholas J "Nick" Kroll
American actor and comedian
- Nicholas Iglesias (b. 2017)
son of Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias and former pro tennis player Anna Kournikova
- Nicholas "Nick" John Hundley
American baseball player
- Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson (b. 2020)
son of Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds
- Nicholas Alexander chavez
Actor
- Yixiang "Nicholas" Wang
Taiwanese singer and rapper; member of Japanese boy-band &TEAM
Nicholas in pop culture
- Nicholas Nickleby
Dickens novel and its main character
- Nicholas "Nick" Burkhardt
main character on the show "Grimm".
- Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury
Movel comics and movies character
- Nicholas Benedict
character in "Mysterious Benedict Society" series
- Nicholas “Nicky” Banks
Will's baby cousin on Fresh Prince of Bel,Air
- Nicholas "Nick" Charles
detective in Dashiell Hammett's "The Thin Man" novels and film series
- Nicholas "Nick" Amaro
Detective on Law & Order SVU
- Nicholas Brody
character on Showtime's "Homeland"
- Nicholas "Nick" Wilde
lead (fox) character in the movie "Zootopia"
- Nicholas D. Wolfwood
character from the anime "Trigun"
- Nicholas "Nick" Campbell
main character in film "The Internship"
- Nicholas "Nick" Stokes
character on TV's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
- Nicholas "Nick" Daley
character in "Night at the Museum"
- Nicholas "Nick" St. Clair
character on Freeform's "Riverdale"
- Nicholas Steiner
character in the webcomic "Riverside Extras" by Miri Chamberlain
- Old St. Nicholas
another name for Santa Claus
- Nicholas “Nicky” Katsopolis
character on TV’s Full House and Fuller House
- Nicholas “Nick” Scratch
a character off “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”