Nikan
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- nee-KAHN
- Origin
- Persian
- UK rank, 2025
- #4,301 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #5,859 for boys
Nikan is a boys' name of Persian origin, meaning “the good ones”. In 2025 it ranked 4,301st for boys in the UK (4 babies) and 5,859th for boys in the US (15 babies).
What does Nikan mean?
Persian: from Persian nik 'good' with the plural ending -an
“the good ones”
An Iranian name built from nik, the Persian word for good or virtuous.
Is Nikan a girl's or a boy's name?
Nikan is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 4 boys in the UK and 15 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Nikan in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #4,301among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 4about 1 in 75,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 17% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 4 boys in the UK were named Nikan, making it the 4,301st most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,502nd. Its busiest year was 2019, with 8 boys.
It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 3 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Nikan than any year since 2017.
Half of all the boys named Nikan in the UK since 1996 were born between 2017 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 4,212th in England and Wales.
Nikan in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | #4,301 |
| 2024 | 5 | #3,772 |
| 2023 | 6 | #3,279 |
| 2022 | 7 | #2,922 |
| 2021 | 5 | #3,614 |
| 2020 | 5 | #3,502 |
| 2019 | 8 | #2,633 |
| 2018 | 5 | #3,596 |
| 2017 | 3 | #4,995 |
| 2016 | 4 | #4,214 |
| 2015 | 4 | #4,086 |
| 2014 | 3 | #4,829 |
| 2013 | 1 | #6,198 |
How popular is Nikan in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #5,859among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 15about 1 in 110,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to calltoo few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 15 boys in the US were named Nikan, making it the 5,859th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,695th. Its busiest year was 2020, with 15 boys. It first appears in the records in 2008.
2025 had more boys named Nikan than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Nikan in the US since 1880 were born between 2015 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
Nikan in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15 | #5,859 |
| 2024 | 11 | #7,252 |
| 2023 | 11 | #7,284 |
| 2022 | 11 | #7,256 |
| 2021 | 8 | #8,820 |
| 2020 | 15 | #5,695 |
| 2019 | 10 | #7,638 |
| 2018 | 8 | #8,813 |
| 2017 | 8 | #8,835 |
| 2016 | 10 | #7,600 |
| 2015 | 11 | #7,061 |
| 2014 | 6 | #10,711 |
| 2013 | 5 | #12,129 |
| 2012 | 5 | #12,267 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 5 | #12,224 |
| 2009 | 0 | – |
| 2008 | 6 | #11,030 |
Names like Nikan
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Aarav Avyaan Vihaan Shivansh Krishiv Ivaan Arjan Nivaan Nirvaan Gurbaaz Vivaan Nirvair
More Persian names
Jasper Esther Jasmine Casper Cyrus Yasmin Darius Zorawar Kiyan Rumi Yasmine Kasper Mahnoor Dario Arian Arman
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, “Nikan: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nikan, updated 20 October 2026.