Nycholas
Derived from the Greek name "Nikolaos," meaning "victory of the people."
Name Census estimates that about 198 living Americans carry the first name Nycholas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Nycholas today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nycholas births was 2003 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nycholas. 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
198
~ 1 in 1,731,083 Americans
Peak year
2003
20 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2011 SSA rank
#10,465
Tracked since 1991
Census
Nycholas in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 177 people with the first name Nycholas, which placed it at #41,393 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
#41,393
National first-name rank
People counted
177
177 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nycholas
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nycholas is White at 44.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Hispanic (16.4%). 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 Nycholas 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 Nycholas at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.6% · 79
- Black or African American31.1% · 55
- Hispanic or Latino16.4% · 29
- Two or more races5.1% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Nycholas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nycholas from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 114 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nycholas 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 Nycholas 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 Nycholas
The given name Nycholas has its origins rooted in the ancient Greek language. It is a variation of the more commonly known name Nicholas, which can be traced back to the Greek words "nikē," meaning "victory," and "laos," meaning "people." This combination essentially translates to "victor of the people" or "people's champion."
In early Christian history, the name gained prominence due to its association with Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop from the ancient city of Myra in modern-day Turkey. He was renowned for his generosity and kindness, particularly towards children, and his reputation as a protector of the innocent and helper of the poor spread far and wide.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Nycholas can be found in medieval manuscripts and church records from various regions of Europe, where it was often used as a variation or diminutive form of Nicholas. In some areas, the spelling "Nycholas" was preferred over the more common "Nicholas" due to regional linguistic influences or personal preferences.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Nycholas was Nycholas of Cusa, a 15th-century German philosopher, mathematician, and theologian, born in 1401 and known for his contributions to the Renaissance era. Another prominent figure was Nycholas Culpeper, an English botanist, herbalist, and physician from the 17th century, who lived from 1616 to 1654.
In the realm of literature, Nycholas Udall, an English playwright and scholar who lived from 1504 to 1556, left a lasting impact with his works, including the play "Ralph Roister Doister," which is considered one of the earliest English comedies.
Moving into the 18th century, Nycholas Rowe, an English poet and dramatist born in 1674 and died in 1718, gained recognition for his adaptations of Shakespearean plays and his own tragedies, such as "The Fair Penitent."
In the field of art, Nycholas Hilliard, an English miniature painter and goldsmith, made significant contributions to portraiture during the Elizabethan era, living from 1537 to 1619.
While the name Nycholas may not have been as widely used as its more common counterpart Nicholas, it has nevertheless left its mark throughout history, with notable individuals bearing this name across various disciplines and eras.
People
Nycholas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nycholas 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
Nycholas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nycholas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 198 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nycholas 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 1,731,083 US residents.
Is Nycholas a common name?
We classify Nycholas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 201 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nycholas most popular?
The single biggest year for Nycholas was 2003, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nycholas is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nycholas in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 177 people with the name Nycholas, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,393 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 Nycholas 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 Nycholas?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Nycholas appears almost entirely male. Of the 174 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Nycholas?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nycholas is White at 44.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Hispanic (16.4%). 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 Nycholas most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Nycholas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.6% (79 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 Nycholas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nycholas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Nycholas 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 Nycholas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nycholas 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 Nycholas 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 Nycholas?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Nycholas on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.