How popular is the baby name Nicholas in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Nicholas.

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Popularity of the baby name Nicholas


Posts that mention the name Nicholas

Baby name “safe list”: Amelia, Calvin, Grace, Preston, Rebecca, Wesley

Not sure what to name your baby?

Maybe you should go with a classic. The following names have been popular in the U.S. since at least 1880 (when data on baby names was first collected). None of the male names have ever been out of the top 400, and none of the female names have ever been out of the top 500.

So, if you’re stumped, simply close your eyes and point. Just remember to veer to the left if you’re having a boy, to the right if you’re having a girl…

Aaron
Albert
Alex
Alexander
Allen
Andrew
Andy
Anthony
Antonio
Arthur
Benjamin
Calvin
Charles
Christopher
Clayton
Curtis
Daniel
David
Dennis
Donald
Edgar
Edward
Edwin
Felix
Frank
George
Grant
Henry
Isaac
Jack
Jacob
James
Jay
Jerry
Jesse
Joe
Joel
John
Jose
Joseph
Juan
Julian
Kenneth
Louis
Manuel
Marcus
Mark
Martin
Marvin
Matthew
Michael
Nathan
Nathaniel
Nicholas
Oscar
Patrick
Paul
Peter
Philip
Phillip
Preston
Raymond
Richard
Robert
Ruben
Samuel
Stephen
Theodore
Thomas
Timothy
Tony
Victor
Vincent
Walter
Wesley
William
Alice
Amanda
Amelia
Amy
Anna
Anne
Annie
Caroline
Catherine
Cecilia
Charlotte
Christina
Christine
Claudia
Cynthia
Elizabeth
Emily
Emma
Esther
Eva
Evelyn
Grace
Helen
Jane
Josephine
Julia
Katherine
Kathleen
Kathryn
Katie
Laura
Leah
Lillian
Linda
Lydia
Margaret
Maria
Mary
Miriam
Molly
Nancy
Naomi
Nina
Priscilla
Rachel
Rebecca
Rose
Rosa
Ruby
Ruth
Sara
Sarah
Veronica

Honorable Mentions: Douglas, Eddie, Ivan, Lawrence, Mitchell and Russell were each out of the top 400 only once, and Nora was out of the top 500 only once.

Popular baby names in New York City, 2006

Flag of New York
Flag of New York

According to New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the most popular baby names in the city in 2006 were Ashley and Michael.

Here are New York City’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2006:

Girl names

  1. Ashley, 518 baby girls
  2. Emily, 504
  3. Isabella, 457
  4. Sarah, 409
  5. Kayla, 406
  6. Sophia, 402
  7. Mia, 384
  8. Madison, 333
  9. Brianna, 326 (tie)
  10. Samantha, 326 (tie)
  11. Rachel, 322
  12. Olivia, 312
  13. Ava, 296
  14. Emma, 270
  15. Julia, 267
  16. Maya, 265
  17. Angelina, 264
  18. Victoria, 260
  19. Leah, 248
  20. Michelle, 244 (tie)
  21. Nicole, 244 (tie)
  22. Gabriella, 240
  23. Esther, 239
  24. Alexandra, 232 (3-way tie)
  25. Chloe, 232 (3-way tie)
  26. Elizabeth, 232 (3-way tie)
  27. Jessica, 229
  28. Sara, 228
  29. Abigail, 222
  30. Alyssa, 210
  31. Jennifer, 197
  32. Chaya, 193
  33. Natalie, 192 (tie)
  34. Sofia, 192 (tie)
  35. Destiny, 187
  36. Grace, 186
  37. Melanie, 181
  38. Amanda, 178 (3-way tie)
  39. Jasmine, 178 (3-way tie)
  40. Katherine, 178 (3-way tie)
  41. Anna, 177
  42. Arianna, 174
  43. Stephanie, 172
  44. Jada, 168
  45. Hannah, 165
  46. Alexa, 162
  47. Maria, 160
  48. Kimberly, 158
  49. Ariana, 156
  50. Gianna, 154 (tie)
  51. Zoe, 154 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Michael, 805 baby boys
  2. Daniel, 766
  3. Matthew, 748
  4. Joshua, 736
  5. Justin, 718
  6. David, 700
  7. Christopher, 675
  8. Joseph, 643
  9. Anthony, 639
  10. Jayden, 591
  11. Kevin, 540
  12. Brandon, 512
  13. Alexander, 509
  14. Ryan, 503
  15. Nicholas, 489
  16. Jonathan, 469
  17. Ethan, 450
  18. Andrew, 447
  19. Christian, 438
  20. John, 434
  21. Jacob, 423
  22. Jason, 419
  23. William, 407
  24. Angel, 405
  25. James, 402
  26. Gabriel, 352
  27. Samuel, 344
  28. Elijah, 341
  29. Benjamin, 306
  30. Dylan, 304
  31. Jack, 294
  32. Tyler, 290
  33. Aaron, 286
  34. Jordan, 284
  35. Isaiah, 283
  36. Sebastian, 279
  37. Jaden, 266
  38. Jose, 263
  39. Eric, 261
  40. Brian, 245
  41. Aidan, 237
  42. Adam, 234
  43. Sean, 233
  44. Alex, 231
  45. Noah, 230
  46. Jeremiah, 229 (tie)
  47. Xavier, 229 (tie)
  48. Bryan, 227 (tie)
  49. Steven, 227 (tie)
  50. Jeremy, 226

The top baby names within specific ethnic/racial groups were…

Top girl nameTop boy name
HispanicAshleyAngel
AsianEmilyRyan
Non-Hispanic WhiteSarahMichael
Non-Hispanic BlackKaylaJoshua

And among the names given to just 10 babies each in NYC last year were the girl names Eleni, Louise, Nailah, Ruchy, and Winni, and the boy names Aldo, Gideon, Herman, Shiloh, and Yehudah.

Source: Popular Baby Names – NYC.gov (pdf)

Image: Adapted from Flag of New York (public domain)

[Latest update: Oct. 2025]

College football coaches inspire baby names

football field

According to sports columnist Wendell Barnhouse, at least six babies born in Ohio have been named Tressel after Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel since 2003.

Barnhouse also knows of Alabaman babies who’ve been named Saban and Bryant, in honor of current and past University of Alabama coaches Nicholas “Nick” Saban and Paul “Bear” Bryant.

Update, Oct. 7, 2015: The 20th-annual Bear Bryant Namesake Reunion was held recently in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, according to the NYT: Where Bear Meets Bryant, Again and Again

Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Image: Adapted from New Meadowlands Stadium: Mezz Corner (cropped) by section215 under CC BY 2.0.

Popular baby names in Malta, 2006

Flag of Malta
Flag of Malta

The National Statistics Office of Malta, a tiny island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, compiles baby name rankings by lumping variant spellings of names (like Matthew, Matteo and Matthias) together into a single entry.

The most popular baby names in Malta last year were:

Girl Names

  1. Maria/Mariah (73 babies)
  2. Maya (53)
  3. Amy (43)
  4. Martina & Emma (tie; 40 each)
  5. Shania (36)
  6. Ylenia & Michela/Michaela & Sarah (tie; 35 each)
  7. Elisa/Eliza (33)
  8. Julia (32)
  9. Jasmin (30)
  10. Hailey (72)
  11. Nicole (26)
  12. Francesca (25)
  13. Catherine/Katarina/Kate (23)
  14. Amber & Hannah (tie; 19 each)
  15. Emily & Kelsey (tie; 18 each)
  16. Thea (16)
  17. Kaylie & Lara (tie; 15 each)
  18. Matthea (14)
  19. Mireille & Naomi (tie; 13 each)
  20. Aaliyah (12)

Boy Names

  1. Luke/Luca (79 babies)
  2. Matthew/Matteo/Matthias (78)
  3. Jake (67)
  4. Andre & Isaac & Michael/Michele (tie; 49 each)
  5. Nicholas (46)
  6. Aidan (42)
  7. Kieran (41)
  8. Daniel (40)
  9. Kyle (37)
  10. Nathan/Nathaniel (31)
  11. Gabriel (30)
  12. Christian & Julian & Liam (tie; 27 each)
  13. Alexander (26)
  14. Zachery (23)
  15. Thomas (22)
  16. James (21)
  17. Benjamin (18)
  18. Tristan (17)
  19. Jaydon & Kurt & Leon & Sven (tie; 16 each)
  20. Denzel & John Paul (tie; 15 each)

There were 1,846 girls and 2,039 boys born in Malta in 2006. (The country only has 402,000 inhabitants total.) Based on the numbers above, 41% of those girls and 46% of those boys were given a top-20 name.

Image: Adapted from Flag of Malta (public domain)