Nicholas

Did you know?

A few things about Nicholas you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Nicholas

Nicholas Hoult

English actor (born 1989)

Choose Nicholas and your child shares a first name with Nicholas Hoult, an English actor. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Nicholas, like who?” Nicholas Hoult's Wikipedia article is available in 77 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Nicholas Hoult on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 548 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Nicholas, 3,115 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Nicholas would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryNicholas has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Nicholass, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1999, when it ranked #5. Today it's #112, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowNicholas was 6.9× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 80 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 548.
• 🍂TrendNicholas has slipped 25 places over the last five years and now sits at #112. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedNicholas is most popular in New Jersey, where it ranks #39, followed by New York (#52) and Connecticut (#60). It makes the top 1,000 in almost every state.
• 💬MeaningIn Greek, Nicholas means “victory of the people”.

About the name Nicholas

Nicholas is a boy name of French origin meaning “victory of the people”. It has 8 letters and 3 syllables, starting with N and ending in “-las”. US birth records list Nicholas for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1999, when it ranked #5 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #112, with 3,115 babies.

Origin:French names