Nicholl
A masculine name derived from the surname Nicholl, an Anglicized form of Niall.
Name Census estimates that about 159 living Americans carry the first name Nicholl. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nicholl today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nicholl births was 1980 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nicholl. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nicholl with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
159
~ 1 in 2,155,688 Americans
Peak year
1980
19 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1988 SSA rank
#11,322
Tracked since 1972
Census
Nicholl in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 184 people with the first name Nicholl, which placed it at #40,443 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#40,443
National first-name rank
People counted
184
184 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nicholl
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicholl is White at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Hispanic (14.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Nicholl described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Nicholl at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.7% · 119
- Black or African American14.7% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino14.7% · 27
- Two or more races4.3% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 3
Popularity
Nicholl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nicholl from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 108 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nicholl by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Nicholl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nicholls live
Origin
Meaning and history of Nicholl
The name Nicholl is derived from the Greek name Nikolaos, which itself comes from the combination of the words "niko" meaning "victor" and "laos" meaning "people". The name Nikolaos was later Latinized to Nicholaus and then evolved into various forms across different cultures and languages.
In the English-speaking world, the name Nicholl emerged as a variant spelling of the more common Nicholas. It is believed to have originated in Scotland and Ireland, where it was likely influenced by the Gaelic language and naming traditions. The earliest recorded instances of the name Nicholl can be traced back to the 16th century in these regions.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Nicholl was Sir Francis Nicholl, an English judge and politician who lived from 1599 to 1673. He served as a Member of Parliament and was appointed as a judge of the King's Bench during the reign of Charles II.
Another notable figure with the name Nicholl was John Nicholl, an English clergyman and academic who lived from 1759 to 1838. He was the Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University and published several works on biblical studies and theology.
In the 19th century, Nicholl Philips was a Welsh businessman and industrialist who played a significant role in the development of the coal and iron industries in South Wales. He lived from 1792 to 1872 and was instrumental in establishing the town of Tredegar.
Moving into the 20th century, George Nicholl was a British artist and illustrator known for his book illustrations and magazine covers. He lived from 1890 to 1939 and contributed artwork to publications such as Punch and The Strand Magazine.
Finally, Desmond Nicholl was a British lawyer and judge who served as a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1971 to 1985. He was born in 1909 and played a crucial role in shaping English law during his time on the bench.
While the name Nicholl has its roots in Greek and was later influenced by Celtic traditions, it has been used across various cultures and time periods, with notable individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in fields such as law, academia, business, and the arts.
People
Nicholl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nicholl as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nicholl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nicholl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 159 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nicholl going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,155,688 US residents.
Is Nicholl a common name?
We classify Nicholl as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 171 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nicholl most popular?
The single biggest year for Nicholl was 1980, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nicholl is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nicholl in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 184 people with the name Nicholl, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #40,443 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Nicholl in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Nicholl?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nicholl leans strongly female. 179 people counted with this name were female (94.7%), compared with 10 male bearers (5.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Nicholl?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nicholl is White at 64.7%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Hispanic (14.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Nicholl most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nicholl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.7% (119 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Nicholl in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nicholl a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nicholl in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Nicholl still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nicholl in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Nicholl can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Nicholl?
You can see how many people share the name Nicholl on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.