Nikolai
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- nee-ko-LY
- Origin
- Greek
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,286 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #605 for boys
Nikolai is a boys' name of Greek origin, meaning “victory of the people”. In 2025 it ranked 1,286th for boys in the UK (23 babies) and 605th for boys in the US (469 babies).
What does Nikolai mean?
Greek: Russian form of Nicholas
“victory of the people”
The Russian form of Nicholas, borne by the writer Nikolai Gogol and the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Nikolai a girl's or a boy's name?
Nikolai is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 23 boys in the UK and 469 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Nikolai in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,286th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 23 about 1 in 13,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 11% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 23 boys in the UK were named Nikolai, making it the 1,286th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,105th. Its busiest year was 2019, with 35 boys.
Half of all the boys named Nikolai in the UK since 1996 were born between 2007 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 30 boys in the UK were given Nikolai or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #951, up from #1,286 for this spelling alone.
- Nikolai 23
- Nikolay 7
Among boys in 2025, it was 1,225th in England and Wales.
Nikolai in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 23 | #1,286 |
| 2024 | 22 | #1,311 |
| 2023 | 30 | #1,072 |
| 2022 | 17 | #1,561 |
| 2021 | 26 | #1,166 |
| 2020 | 27 | #1,105 |
| 2019 | 35 | #931 |
| 2018 | 22 | #1,280 |
| 2017 | 27 | #1,141 |
| 2016 | 30 | #1,056 |
| 2015 | 18 | #1,476 |
| 2014 | 22 | #1,260 |
| 2013 | 17 | #1,493 |
| 2012 | 19 | #1,405 |
| 2011 | 16 | #1,542 |
| 2010 | 21 | #1,288 |
| 2009 | 24 | #1,150 |
| 2008 | 8 | #2,384 |
| 2007 | 16 | #1,458 |
| 2006 | 21 | #1,131 |
| 2005 | 13 | #1,522 |
| 2004 | 11 | #1,583 |
| 2003 | 15 | #1,205 |
| 2002 | 7 | #1,900 |
| 2001 | 11 | #1,369 |
| 2000 | 12 | #1,235 |
| 1999 | 11 | #1,267 |
| 1998 | 6 | #1,932 |
| 1997 | 13 | #1,111 |
| 1996 | 5 | #2,094 |
How popular is Nikolai in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 605th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 469 about 1 in 3,600 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 16% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 469 boys in the US were named Nikolai, making it the 605th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 545th. Its busiest year was 2016, with 639 boys. It first appears in the records in 1960.
2025 had fewer boys named Nikolai than any year since 2013.
Half of all the boys named Nikolai in the US since 1880 were born between 2009 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 493 boys in the US were given Nikolai or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #572, up from #605 for this spelling alone.
Nikolai in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 469 | #605 |
| 2024 | 484 | #593 |
| 2023 | 470 | #602 |
| 2022 | 491 | #582 |
| 2021 | 622 | #480 |
| 2020 | 521 | #545 |
| 2019 | 554 | #514 |
| 2018 | 614 | #473 |
| 2017 | 573 | #507 |
| 2016 | 639 | #480 |
| 2015 | 629 | #474 |
| 2014 | 516 | #539 |
| 2013 | 436 | #585 |
| 2012 | 421 | #601 |
| 2011 | 365 | #640 |
| 2010 | 313 | #732 |
| 2009 | 299 | #760 |
| 2008 | 231 | #899 |
| 2007 | 208 | #949 |
| 2006 | 163 | #1,081 |
| 2005 | 162 | #1,034 |
| 2004 | 141 | #1,123 |
| 2003 | 124 | #1,189 |
| 2002 | 116 | #1,198 |
| 2001 | 108 | #1,228 |
| 2000 | 80 | #1,500 |
| 1999 | 95 | #1,280 |
| 1998 | 94 | #1,277 |
| 1997 | 76 | #1,420 |
| 1996 | 82 | #1,319 |
| 1995 | 68 | #1,443 |
| 1994 | 76 | #1,336 |
| 1993 | 63 | #1,467 |
| 1992 | 62 | #1,467 |
| 1991 | 65 | #1,405 |
| 1990 | 52 | #1,582 |
| 1989 | 46 | #1,673 |
| 1988 | 37 | #1,810 |
| 1987 | 31 | #1,970 |
| 1986 | 29 | #2,005 |
| 1985 | 32 | #1,833 |
| 1984 | 27 | #1,978 |
| 1983 | 18 | #2,576 |
| 1982 | 21 | #2,340 |
| 1981 | 24 | #2,137 |
| 1980 | 26 | #2,058 |
| 1979 | 28 | #1,903 |
| 1978 | 16 | #2,668 |
| 1977 | 24 | #2,008 |
| 1976 | 32 | #1,645 |
| 1975 | 31 | #1,629 |
| 1974 | 21 | #2,050 |
| 1973 | 12 | #2,855 |
| 1972 | 16 | #2,323 |
| 1971 | 12 | #2,811 |
| 1970 | 10 | #3,069 |
| 1969 | 15 | #2,216 |
| 1968 | 0 | – |
| 1967 | 0 | – |
| 1966 | 5 | #3,946 |
| 1965 | 8 | #2,980 |
| 1964 | 8 | #3,049 |
| 1963 | 0 | – |
| 1962 | 5 | #4,031 |
| 1961 | 5 | #4,063 |
| 1960 | 6 | #3,663 |
Names like Nikolai
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kai, Koa, Nico, Luca, Ozzy, Muhammad, Noah, Sebastian, Lucas, Bodhi, Ibrahim, Tobias
Other spellings of Nikolai
Names related to Nikolai
More Greek names
Theodore, Sophia, George, Theo, Sofia, Alexander, Penelope, Phoebe, Margot, Luke, Chloe, Sophie, Zoe, Iris, Maisie, Lainey
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, “Nikolai: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/nikolai, updated 20 October 2026.