Recorded 1908–2025 · United States
Nicola was most popular in 1972, when 236 American babies were given the name — ranking #1,135 that year. In 2025 it ranked #6,507, with 40 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 8,090 people named Nicola.
Nicola first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1908, which makes it about 117 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 117 of the 118 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 8,090 American births named Nicola between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 7,042 are estimated to be alive today.
40 American babies were named Nicola in 2025, ranking #6,507 that year.
Nicola is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 46 births a year, against 52 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -10% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Nicola is a unisex name — 62.8% of the 8,090 Americans given it were girls and 37.2% were boys. It changed hands: since 2017 it has gone mainly to boys, having gone mainly to girls before that. In births since 2016 it is 33% girls and 67% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 7,042 Americans named Nicola are alive today — 87% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 43 years old, and half are between 28 and 55.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Nicola on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org