Popularity of the name Nicholas, 1880–2025
Nicholas was at its most popular in 1995, when 29,160 boys were given the name: about 1 in 65 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #7. In 2025, 3,115 boys were named Nicholas, ranking #112. In all, Social Security counts 926,047 boys named Nicholas since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 3,152 girls named Nicholas.
- Peak year
- 1995
- Rank in 1995
- #7
- Babies in 1995
- 29,160
- Rank in 2025
- #112
- Total since 1880
- 926,047
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #62 in 2015 to #112 in 2025: 6,263 boys got it in 2015, and 3,115 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1990s, when 275,329 boys were named Nicholas, #6 for the decade. It ranked #180 in the 1880s and #103 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 73 in 1880 (#177), 95 in 1900 (#199), 1,354 in 1920 (#124), 1,102 in 1940 (#154), 2,298 in 1960 (#153), 21,018 in 1980 (#17), 24,653 in 2000 (#6) and 4,065 in 2020 (#87).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 29,160, in 1995. Its best rank in any year was #5, first reached in 1999.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Nicholas, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 73 | #177 |
| 1881 | 56 | #203 |
| 1882 | 66 | #193 |
| 1883 | 71 | #174 |
| 1884 | 69 | #193 |
| 1885 | 66 | #195 |
| 1886 | 85 | #162 |
| 1887 | 79 | #157 |
| 1888 | 97 | #157 |
| 1889 | 68 | #191 |
| 1890 | 78 | #175 |
| 1891 | 78 | #164 |
| 1892 | 95 | #166 |
| 1893 | 89 | #162 |
| 1894 | 77 | #192 |
| 1895 | 84 | #187 |
| 1896 | 106 | #156 |
| 1897 | 87 | #177 |
| 1898 | 94 | #172 |
| 1899 | 69 | #196 |
| 1900 | 95 | #199 |
| 1901 | 88 | #168 |
| 1902 | 112 | #156 |
| 1903 | 90 | #184 |
| 1904 | 102 | #177 |
| 1905 | 112 | #171 |
| 1906 | 144 | #143 |
| 1907 | 161 | #143 |
| 1908 | 226 | #113 |
| 1909 | 204 | #133 |
| 1910 | 235 | #137 |
| 1911 | 308 | #120 |
| 1912 | 676 | #113 |
| 1913 | 796 | #110 |
| 1914 | 1,151 | #102 |
| 1915 | 1,427 | #104 |
| 1916 | 1,419 | #107 |
| 1917 | 1,412 | #109 |
| 1918 | 1,488 | #113 |
| 1919 | 1,321 | #122 |
| 1920 | 1,354 | #124 |
| 1921 | 1,553 | #114 |
| 1922 | 1,414 | #122 |
| 1923 | 1,468 | #120 |
| 1924 | 1,488 | #122 |
| 1925 | 1,332 | #133 |
| 1926 | 1,319 | #133 |
| 1927 | 1,272 | #137 |
| 1928 | 1,216 | #140 |
| 1929 | 1,192 | #142 |
| 1930 | 1,131 | #147 |
| 1931 | 1,103 | #145 |
| 1932 | 925 | #163 |
| 1933 | 888 | #160 |
| 1934 | 873 | #165 |
| 1935 | 911 | #158 |
| 1936 | 929 | #157 |
| 1937 | 935 | #159 |
| 1938 | 989 | #161 |
| 1939 | 1,032 | #156 |
| 1940 | 1,102 | #154 |
| 1941 | 1,212 | #146 |
| 1942 | 1,500 | #142 |
| 1943 | 1,434 | #148 |
| 1944 | 1,361 | #150 |
| 1945 | 1,357 | #151 |
| 1946 | 1,675 | #144 |
| 1947 | 1,935 | #143 |
| 1948 | 1,929 | #142 |
| 1949 | 1,998 | #136 |
| 1950 | 2,176 | #124 |
| 1951 | 2,388 | #120 |
| 1952 | 2,343 | #127 |
| 1953 | 2,359 | #131 |
| 1954 | 2,368 | #134 |
| 1955 | 2,186 | #141 |
| 1956 | 2,212 | #147 |
| 1957 | 2,197 | #152 |
| 1958 | 2,189 | #153 |
| 1959 | 2,196 | #156 |
| 1960 | 2,298 | #153 |
| 1961 | 2,078 | #158 |
| 1962 | 2,144 | #155 |
| 1963 | 2,130 | #155 |
| 1964 | 2,069 | #158 |
| 1965 | 2,068 | #149 |
| 1966 | 2,139 | #139 |
| 1967 | 2,288 | #130 |
| 1968 | 2,548 | #118 |
| 1969 | 2,577 | #123 |
| 1970 | 2,704 | #123 |
| 1971 | 2,608 | #123 |
| 1972 | 2,843 | #99 |
| 1973 | 3,153 | #85 |
| 1974 | 3,218 | #80 |
| 1975 | 3,319 | #81 |
| 1976 | 3,466 | #77 |
| 1977 | 6,071 | #51 |
| 1978 | 16,342 | #25 |
| 1979 | 21,344 | #15 |
| 1980 | 21,018 | #17 |
| 1981 | 19,775 | #21 |
| 1982 | 19,643 | #22 |
| 1983 | 19,891 | #21 |
| 1984 | 21,017 | #20 |
| 1985 | 22,384 | #19 |
| 1986 | 22,800 | #17 |
| 1987 | 23,247 | #16 |
| 1988 | 25,303 | #14 |
| 1989 | 28,230 | #14 |
| 1990 | 27,913 | #14 |
| 1991 | 27,357 | #12 |
| 1992 | 27,762 | #12 |
| 1993 | 28,114 | #8 |
| 1994 | 27,770 | #9 |
| 1995 | 29,160 | #7 |
| 1996 | 27,724 | #6 |
| 1997 | 27,258 | #6 |
| 1998 | 26,632 | #6 |
| 1999 | 25,639 | #5 |
| 2000 | 24,653 | #6 |
| 2001 | 22,849 | #6 |
| 2002 | 21,390 | #9 |
| 2003 | 19,696 | #12 |
| 2004 | 18,519 | #13 |
| 2005 | 17,076 | #15 |
| 2006 | 15,675 | #17 |
| 2007 | 14,362 | #20 |
| 2008 | 12,533 | #29 |
| 2009 | 10,856 | #32 |
| 2010 | 9,653 | #37 |
| 2011 | 8,601 | #42 |
| 2012 | 7,742 | #49 |
| 2013 | 7,147 | #54 |
| 2014 | 6,779 | #57 |
| 2015 | 6,263 | #62 |
| 2016 | 5,765 | #63 |
| 2017 | 5,372 | #68 |
| 2018 | 4,847 | #74 |
| 2019 | 4,642 | #78 |
| 2020 | 4,065 | #87 |
| 2021 | 3,866 | #92 |
| 2022 | 3,643 | #97 |
| 2023 | 3,261 | #109 |
| 2024 | 3,038 | #117 |
| 2025 | 3,115 | #112 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.