How Many People Are Named Nicholas?
An estimated 851,882 people in the United States have the first name Nicholas, ranking it #34 among all first names. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 33 years old, and Nicholas peaked in popularity in 1995 with 29,217 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Kenneth (836,956).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Nicholas as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Nicholas paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Nicholas is overwhelmingly male, 3,139 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
851,882
About 1 in 402 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.7% confidence
Average Age
33
years old
Peak Year
1995
29,217 births
Total Registered
926,036
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Nicholas
Nicholas is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 926,036 total births registered, 99.7% were male.
Nicholas as a male name
Ranked #118 in 2024
3,025 male births in 2024
Peak: 1995 (29,161 births)
Nicholas as a female name
Ranked #14,806 in 2022
6 female births in 2022
Peak: 1985 (162 births)
Nicholas: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Nicholas span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1990s, when 275,949 babies were registered. Nicholas has declined significantly from its peak in the 1990s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Nicholas by Decade
How has Nicholas tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 730 | 730 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 857 | 857 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 1,334 | 1,334 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 10,253 | 10,233 | 20 | |
| 1920s | 13,700 | 13,608 | 92 | |
| 1930s | 9,756 | 9,716 | 40 | |
| 1940s | 15,531 | 15,503 | 28 | |
| 1950s | 22,666 | 22,614 | 52 | |
| 1960s | 22,411 | 22,343 | 68 | |
| 1970s | 65,477 | 65,069 | 408 | |
| 1980s | 224,714 | 223,320 | 1,394 | |
| 1990s | 275,949 | 275,326 | 623 | |
| 2000s | 177,926 | 177,604 | 322 | |
| 2010s | 66,878 | 66,792 | 86 | |
| 2020s | 17,854 | 17,848 | 6 | |
Nicholas by State
Birth registrations for Nicholas span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont. On average, about 18,018 Nicholass were registered per state.
Nicholas + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Nicholas as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Nicholas
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Nicholas: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nicholas?
We estimate approximately 851,882 people named Nicholas are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 402 Americans share this first name.
Is Nicholas a common name?
Nicholas is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 100% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 926,036 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Nicholas most popular?
Nicholas reached peak popularity in 1995, when 29,217 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Nicholas is approximately 33 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Nicholas a male name?
Nicholas is predominantly male. 99.7% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Nicholas Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Nicholas Smith, Nicholas Johnson, Nicholas Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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