Nikol
Feminine name of Greek origin meaning "victory of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 822 living Americans carry the first name Nikol. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Nikol today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nikol births was 1971 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nikol. 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 Nikol with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
822
~ 1 in 416,976 Americans
Peak year
1971
40 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,745
Tracked since 1968
Census
Nikol in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,104 people with the first name Nikol, which placed it at #11,558 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
#11,558
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,104 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nikol
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikol is White at 64.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.7%) and Black (9.4%). 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 Nikol 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 Nikol at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.0% · 707
- Hispanic or Latino20.7% · 228
- Black or African American9.4% · 104
- Two or more races3.0% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 6
Popularity
Nikol: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nikol 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 310 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
Nikol 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 Nikol during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Nikols live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Nikol, while Ohio, Illinois, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nikol
The name Nikol has its origins in the Greek language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Greek word "nikē," meaning "victory," and is closely related to the name Nicholas, which comes from the combination of the same root word and the Greek "laos," meaning "people." This connection to the concept of victory suggests that the name may have been associated with strength, triumph, and overcoming challenges.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Nikol can be found in ancient Greek literature, where it was used as a masculine name. However, over time, it evolved into a feminine name and gained popularity across various regions influenced by Greek culture, including parts of Europe and the Middle East.
In the Byzantine Empire, the name Nikol was borne by several notable figures, such as Nikol Bryennios, a prominent historian and military leader who lived in the 11th and 12th centuries. Another prominent bearer of the name was Nikol Kabasilas, a renowned Byzantine theologian and author who lived in the 14th century.
As the name spread to other parts of Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, including Nicole, Nicolette, and Nikola. One of the most famous historical figures with this name was Nicole d'Este, an Italian Renaissance noblewoman born in 1476, who was known for her patronage of the arts and her influential role in Italian politics.
In Russia, the name Nikol gained popularity in the 19th century, particularly among the aristocracy. One notable Russian bearer of the name was Nikol Rimsky-Korsakov, a celebrated composer and naval officer who lived from 1844 to 1908 and is renowned for his orchestral works and operas.
Another significant figure associated with the name Nikol is Nicole Oresme, a 14th-century French philosopher, mathematician, and theologian. He made significant contributions to the fields of economics, physics, and astronomy, and is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the Late Medieval period.
During the 20th century, the name Nikol continued to be popular, particularly in parts of Europe and the Americas. One notable bearer of the name was Nicole Kidman, the acclaimed Australian actress born in 1967, who has won numerous awards for her performances in films such as "The Hours" and "Moulin Rouge!"
People
Nikol + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nikol 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
Nikol: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nikol?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 822 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nikol 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 416,976 US residents.
Is Nikol a common name?
We classify Nikol as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 874 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nikol most popular?
The single biggest year for Nikol was 1971, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nikol is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nikol in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,104 people with the name Nikol, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,558 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 Nikol 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 Nikol?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nikol leans strongly female. 1,054 people counted with this name were female (95.7%), compared with 47 male bearers (4.3%). 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 Nikol?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nikol is White at 64.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.7%) and Black (9.4%). 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 Nikol most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nikol in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.0% (707 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 Nikol in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nikol a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nikol 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 Nikol still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nikol 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 Nikol 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 common is the name Nikol?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Nikol at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.