Nickole
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "victory of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 2,391 living Americans carry the first name Nickole. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nickole today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nickole births was 1986 (104 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nickole. 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.
People living today
2.4K
~ 1 in 143,352 Americans
Peak year
1986
104 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,944
Tracked since 1966
Census
Nickole in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,106 people with the first name Nickole, which placed it at #7,291 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
#7,291
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,106 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nickole
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nickole is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.5%) and Black (12.6%). 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 Nickole 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 Nickole at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.6% · 1,382
- Hispanic or Latino15.5% · 327
- Black or African American12.6% · 266
- Two or more races4.5% · 94
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
Popularity
Nickole: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nickole from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 780 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nickole 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 Nickole during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nickoles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Michigan, Ohio recorded the most babies named Nickole, while New Jersey, Nebraska, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nickole
The given name Nickole has its origins in the Greek language, dating back to ancient times. It is a feminine form of the Greek name Nikolaos, which is derived from the words "nikos" meaning "victory" and "laos" meaning "people." The name Nikolaos was associated with the Greek goddess Nike, the personification of victory.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Nikolaos can be found in the Bible's New Testament, where it refers to a proselyte (convert) from Antioch. This biblical figure, Nikolaos, was one of the seven deacons appointed to assist the Apostles in the early Christian church.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Nickole or its variants. In the 4th century, Saint Nicholas of Myra, a bishop from the ancient Greek city of Patara (now in modern-day Turkey), became renowned for his generosity and kindness, which led to the legend of Santa Claus.
During the Middle Ages, Nickole de la Haye (c. 1160-1230) was a French noblewoman and the Lady of La Haye-du-Puits. She is mentioned in several historical records from the time, including the chronicles of Robert of Auxerre.
In the 16th century, Nicolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), the renowned Italian Renaissance philosopher and political theorist, authored influential works such as "The Prince" and is widely considered a founding figure of modern political science.
In the 18th century, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), the Polish astronomer and mathematician, revolutionized our understanding of the universe with his heliocentric model, which placed the Sun at the center of the solar system.
During the 19th century, Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852), a Russian novelist and playwright, became famous for his satirical works, including the novel "Dead Souls" and the play "The Government Inspector."
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Nickole or its variants, showcasing the name's enduring presence and significance across various cultures and time periods.
People
Nickole + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nickole 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
Nickole: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nickole?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,391 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nickole 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 143,352 US residents.
Is Nickole a common name?
We classify Nickole as "Rare". It ranks above 94.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,542 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nickole most popular?
The single biggest year for Nickole was 1986, when 104 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nickole is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nickole in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,106 people with the name Nickole, or 0.70 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,291 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 Nickole 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 Nickole?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nickole appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,115 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Nickole?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nickole is White at 65.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (15.5%) and Black (12.6%). 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 Nickole most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nickole in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.6% (1,382 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 Nickole in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nickole a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nickole 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 Nickole still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nickole 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 Nickole 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 are named Nickole?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Nickole at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.