Nameling

Nicholas

Gender
Boy
Say it
NIK-o-las
Origin
Greek
UK rank, 2025
#217 for boys
US rank, 2025
#112 for boys

Nicholas is a boys' name of Greek origin, meaning “victory of the people”. In 2025 it ranked 217th for boys in the UK (256 babies) and 112th for boys in the US (3,115 babies).

What does Nicholas mean?

Greek: from Greek Nikolaos

“victory of the people”

Saint Nicholas, the 4th-century bishop of Myra, is the saint behind the legend of Santa Claus.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Nicholas a girl's or a boy's name?

Nicholas is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 256 boys in the UK and 8 girls and 3,115 boys in the US.

How popular is Nicholas in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#217among boys
Babies in 2025
256about 1 in 1,200 boys
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 31% in five years
Same name in a class
1.2%chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 256 boys in the UK were named Nicholas, making it the 217th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 181st. Its busiest year was 1996, with 1,467 boys.

It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 4 years. 2025 had the fewest boys named Nicholas since the records began in 1996.

Half of all the boys named Nicholas in the UK since 1996 were born between 1999 and 2013. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

In 2025, 433 boys in the UK were given Nicholas or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #150, up from #217 for this spelling alone.

Among boys in 2025, it was 214th in England and Wales and 190th in Scotland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1944 (#76), 1954 (#36), 1964 (#28), 1974 (#19), 1984 (#22), 1994 (#42) and 2004 (#100).

1996Busiest: 1,467 in 19962025
Nicholas in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025256#217
2024263#212
2023278#200
2022310#187
2021347#172
2020323#181
2019442#147
2018388#164
2017439#150
2016420#161
2015461#144
2014466#145
2013459#145
2012440#150
2011425#156
2010490#138
2009498#133
2008531#122
2007540#122
2006591#112
2005593#110
2004614#106
2003671#94
2002688#88
2001757#88
2000920#69
19991,070#64
19981,189#64
19971,379#59
19961,467#55

How popular is Nicholas in the US?

Rank in 2025
#112among boys
Babies in 2025
3,115about 1 in 550 boys
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 31% in five years
Same name in a class
2.5%chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 3,115 boys in the US were named Nicholas, making it the 112th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 87th. Its busiest year was 1995, with 29,160 boys. 8 girls were also named Nicholas in 2025 (10,913th for girls).

Half of all the boys named Nicholas in the US since 1880 were born between 1983 and 2001, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 5,554 boys in the US were given Nicholas or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #65, up from #112 for this spelling alone.

1880Busiest: 29,160 in 19952025
Nicholas in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
20253,115#112
20243,038#117
20233,261#109
20223,643#97
20213,866#92
20204,065#87
20194,642#78
20184,847#74
20175,372#68
20165,765#63
20156,263#62
20146,779#57
20137,147#54
20127,742#49
20118,601#42
20109,653#37
200910,856#32
200812,533#29
200714,362#20
200615,675#17
200517,076#15
200418,519#13
200319,696#12
200221,390#9
200122,849#6
200024,653#6
199925,639#5
199826,632#6
199727,258#6
199627,724#6
199529,160#7
199427,770#9
199328,114#8
199227,762#12
199127,357#12
199027,913#14
198928,230#14
198825,303#14
198723,247#16
198622,800#17
198522,384#19
198421,017#20
198319,891#21
198219,643#22
198119,775#21
198021,018#17
197921,344#15
197816,342#25
19776,071#51
19763,466#77
19753,319#81
19743,218#80
19733,153#85
19722,843#99
19712,608#123
19702,704#123
19692,577#123
19682,548#118
19672,288#130
19662,139#139
19652,068#149
19642,069#158
19632,130#155
19622,144#155
19612,078#158
19602,298#153
19592,196#156
19582,189#153
19572,197#152
19562,212#147
19552,186#141
19542,368#134
19532,359#131
19522,343#127
19512,388#120
19502,176#124
19491,998#136
19481,929#142
19471,935#143
19461,675#144
19451,357#151
19441,361#150
19431,434#148
19421,500#142
19411,212#146
19401,102#154
19391,032#156
1938989#161
1937935#159
1936929#157
1935911#158
1934873#165
1933888#160
1932925#163
19311,103#145
19301,131#147
19291,192#142
19281,216#140
19271,272#137
19261,319#133
19251,332#133
19241,488#122
19231,468#120
19221,414#122
19211,553#114
19201,354#124
19191,321#122
19181,488#113
19171,412#109
19161,419#107
19151,427#104
19141,151#102
1913796#110
1912676#113
1911308#120
1910235#137
1909204#133
1908226#113
1907161#143
1906144#143
1905112#171
1904102#177
190390#184
1902112#156
190188#168
190095#199
189969#196
189894#172
189787#177
1896106#156
189584#187
189477#192
189389#162
189295#166
189178#164
189078#175
188968#191
188897#157
188779#157
188685#162
188566#195
188469#193
188371#174
188266#193
188156#203
188073#177

Nicknames for Nicholas

Names like Nicholas

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Christopher Jason Nathan Alexander Matthew Benjamin Dominic Adam Luke Anthony Alex Michael

Other spellings of Nicholas

Nicolas Nikolas Nicolaas Nicholaus

Names related to Nicholas

Nikolaos Nickolas Nikolaus Nicklaus Nicklas

More Greek names

Luca Theodore Sophia George Theo Lucas Sofia Sebastian Penelope Phoebe Margot Chloe Sophie Zoe Iris Maisie

Every Greek name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Nicholas: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nicholas, updated 20 October 2026.