Nickles
An English surname derived from a nickname for "Nicholas".
Name Census estimates that about 16 living Americans carry the first name Nickles. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nickles today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nickles births was 1994 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nickles. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nickles. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
16
~ 1 in 21,422,146 Americans
Peak year
1994
6 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2006 SSA rank
#13,433
Tracked since 1926
Popularity
Nickles: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nickles from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Nickles remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nickles 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 Nickles during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nickles
The name Nickles is a diminutive form of the name Nicholas, which has its roots in the Greek name Nikolaos. Nikolaos is derived from the elements nikē, meaning "victory," and laos, meaning "people." The name was borne by a 4th-century saint who was the Bishop of Myra in modern-day Turkey.
Nickles gained widespread popularity as a given name during the Middle Ages, particularly in Western Europe. Its earliest recorded use dates back to the 12th century, where it appeared in various medieval records and documents. The name was often associated with individuals of high social standing or those with close ties to the Christian faith.
One of the earliest documented bearers of the name Nickles was Nickles de Brienne, a French nobleman who lived in the late 12th century. He was a prominent figure in the court of King Philip II of France and played a significant role in the Third Crusade. Another notable figure was Nickles Flamel, a 14th-century French scribe and alchemist who gained fame for his alleged discovery of the philosopher's stone.
In the 16th century, Nickles Oresme, a French philosopher, mathematician, and economist, made significant contributions to the fields of economics and science. His work on the concept of impetus laid the foundation for the development of modern physics. Around the same time, Nickles Chuquet, a French mathematician, made important contributions to the field of algebra.
During the Renaissance period, the name Nickles was associated with several prominent artists and intellectuals. Nickles Machiavelli, the Italian Renaissance philosopher, and writer, is perhaps one of the most renowned figures to bear the name. His seminal work, "The Prince," has had a lasting impact on political thought and theory.
In the 19th century, Nickles Saunderson, an English mathematician and professor at the University of Cambridge, gained recognition for his groundbreaking work in the field of optics and his contributions to the education of the visually impaired. Another notable figure was Nickles Winton, an English banker and humanitarian, who helped rescue hundreds of children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia during the Holocaust.
People
Nickles + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nickles 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
Nickles: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nickles?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nickles 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 21,422,146 US residents.
Is Nickles a common name?
We classify Nickles as "Very Rare". It ranks above 36.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nickles most popular?
The single biggest year for Nickles was 1994, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nickles is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Nickles in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nickles a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nickles in the SSA data are male. 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 Nickles still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nickles 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 Nickles 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Nickles?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Nickles on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.