How Many People Are Named Nicole?
An estimated 560,135 people in the United States have the first name Nicole. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #71 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 39 years old, and Nicole peaked in popularity in 1985 with 23,044 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Nancy (557,131).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Nicole 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 Nicole paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Nicole is overwhelmingly female, 1,965 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Nicole has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
560,135
About 1 in 612 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
39
years old
Peak Year
1985
23,044 births
Total Registered
595,656
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Nicole
Nicole is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 595,656 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Nicole as a male name
Ranked #13,544 in 2019
5 male births in 2019
Peak: 1989 (107 births)
Nicole as a female name
Ranked #318 in 2024
961 female births in 2024
Peak: 1985 (22,967 births)
Nicole: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Nicole span from the 1930s to the 2020s, covering 10 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1980s, when 211,320 babies were registered. Nicole has declined significantly from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Nicole by Decade
How has Nicole 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.
Nicole by State
Birth registrations for Nicole 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 11,625 Nicoles were registered per state.
Nicole + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Nicole as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Nicole
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Nicole: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nicole?
We estimate approximately 560,135 people named Nicole 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 612 Americans share this first name.
Is Nicole a common name?
Nicole is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 595,656 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Nicole most popular?
Nicole reached peak popularity in 1985, when 23,044 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Nicole is approximately 39 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Nicole a female name?
Nicole is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Nicole Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Nicole Smith, Nicole Johnson, Nicole 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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