Recorded 1937–2025 · United States
Nikolas was most popular in 2004, when 1,065 American babies were given the name — ranking #603 that year. In 2025 it ranked #1,441, with 375 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 24,050 people named Nikolas.
Nikolas first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1937, which makes it about 88 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 67 of the 89 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 24,050 American births named Nikolas 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 23,515 are estimated to be alive today.
375 American babies were named Nikolas in 2025, ranking #1,441 that year.
Nikolas is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 422 births a year, against 525 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -20% 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 Nikolas is a boy’s name — 0.1% of the 24,050 Americans given it were girls and 99.9% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 0% girls and 100% 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 23,515 Americans named Nikolas are alive today — 98% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 22 years old, and half are between 13 and 29.
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 Nikolas on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org