How popular is the baby name Nichelle 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 Nichelle.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Nichelle


Posts that mention the name Nichelle

Popular baby names in Canada, 2022

Flag of Canada
Flag of Canada

The vast country of Canada is located in North America and shares the world’s longest international land border with its neighbor to the south, the United States.

Last year, Canada (excluding Yukon) welcomed 351,679 babies — 48.6% of which were girls, 51.4% of which were boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah.

Here are Canada’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 1,804 baby girls
  2. Emma, 1,550
  3. Charlotte, 1,475
  4. Amelia, 1,193
  5. Sophia, 1,079
  6. Chloe, 1,057
  7. Mia, 946
  8. Ava, 923
  9. Lily, 861
  10. Mila, 847
  11. Alice, 786
  12. Isla, 769
  13. Sofia, 763
  14. Evelyn, 751
  15. Abigail, 715
  16. Sophie, 712
  17. Nora, 708
  18. Charlie, 700
  19. Ellie, 680
  20. Zoe, 661
  21. Maya, 658
  22. Isabella, 656
  23. Ella, 634
  24. Clara, 618
  25. Elizabeth, 617
  26. Aria, 610
  27. Violet, 599
  28. Rose, 593
  29. Eva, 578
  30. Hannah, 577
  31. Emily, 575 (tie)
  32. Luna, 575 (tie)
  33. Ivy, 562
  34. Harper, 560
  35. Florence, 557
  36. Scarlett, 519
  37. Victoria, 514
  38. Hazel, 513
  39. Julia, 492
  40. Avery, 490
  41. Madison, 488
  42. Zoey, 474
  43. Eleanor, 467
  44. Grace, 448 (tie)
  45. Livia, 448 (tie)
  46. Emilia, 447
  47. Layla, 437
  48. Aurora, 435
  49. Lea, 434
  50. Willow, 430

Boy names

  1. Noah, 2,198 baby boys
  2. Liam, 1,902
  3. William, 1,516
  4. Leo, 1,447
  5. Theodore, 1,423
  6. Oliver, 1,273
  7. Benjamin, 1,217
  8. Thomas, 1,205
  9. Lucas, 1,187
  10. Jack, 1,186
  11. James, 1,141
  12. Jacob, 1,105
  13. Nathan, 1,047
  14. Logan, 1,044
  15. Ethan, 1,040
  16. Adam, 977
  17. Theo, 932
  18. Jackson, 907
  19. Owen, 891
  20. Henry, 870
  21. Levi, 831
  22. Arthur, 807
  23. Felix, 806
  24. Gabriel, 777
  25. Samuel, 753
  26. Charles, 749
  27. Luca, 719
  28. Hudson, 663
  29. Nolan, 651
  30. Alexander, 647
  31. Daniel, 644
  32. Mason, 622
  33. Caleb, 613
  34. Louis, 604
  35. Jayden, 595 (tie)
  36. Muhammad, 595 (tie)
  37. Elijah, 593
  38. Aiden, 584
  39. Maverick, 581
  40. Isaac, 579
  41. Ryan, 538
  42. Wyatt, 521
  43. Carter, 520
  44. Luke, 516
  45. Elliot, 499 (tie)
  46. Lincoln, 499 (tie)
  47. Eli, 496
  48. Grayson, 495
  49. Edouard, 492
  50. Mateo, 489

Among the fastest-rising baby names of 2022 were the girl names Millie, Wren, and Lily and the boy names Robin, Walker, and Muhammad.

What about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the baby names that were given to just 5 babies each in Canada last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Aberdeen, Becca, Charis, Dorcas, Everlyn, Farida, Guntas, Hadeel, Iremide, Jolianne, Khawla, Lumina, Mavi, Nichelle, Opale, Perrie, Rhya, Sylia, Tavisha, Uma, Verna, Wilder, Yoadan, ZaynahAlborz, Brandt, Cornelius, Dryden, Espen, Fabrice, Gurjot, Hades, Indy, Jesper, Kuzey, Lorne, Mederic, Nima, Onkar, Poseidon, Rorik, Solal, Theeran, Udayvir, Viansh, Wesson, Yvan, Zeno

The names used even less frequently — between one and four times — “accounted for 86% of all baby names in 2022.”

Finally, here are Canada’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators – Statistics Canada, Canada’s most popular baby names in 2022 – Statistics Canada, Births, 2022 – Statistics Canada, Canada – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of Canada (public domain)

What popularized the baby name Nichelle in the late 1960s?

The character Lt. Uhura from the TV series "Star Trek" (1966-1969)
Lt. Uhura from “Star Trek“

Gene Roddenberry’s science-fiction TV series Star Trek was set on a spaceship in the 23rd century. The show wasn’t very popular (when it originally aired during the second half of the 1960s), but it was very progressive.

Star Trek‘s diverse set of characters included Japanese-American helmsman Lt. Sulu, half-human, half-Vulcan first officer Mr. Spock, and Russian navigator Ensign Chekov.

Perhaps the most eye-catching character, though, was African-American female communications officer Lt. Uhura.

Uhura — who, like Sulu, wasn’t given a first name — was played by actress Nichelle Nichols. (The character’s surname was based on the title of the 1962 Robert Ruark book Uhuru, which Nichols happened to have with her the day she read for the part. The Swahili word uhuru means “freedom.”)

Thanks to the role, Nichols became “one of the first African American women to be featured in a non-menial role on television.”

In January of 1967, just five months after the show premiered, she was celebrated on the cover of Ebony magazine:

Actress Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura
Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura

Nichelle Nichols’ newfound fame brought attention to her rare first name — which was nearly identical to the then-trendy name Michelle — and, as a result, the usage of Nichelle increased dramatically:

  • 1969: 331 baby girls named Nichelle [rank: 540th]
  • 1968: 395 baby girls named Nichelle [rank: 486th]
  • 1967: 361 baby girls named Nichelle [rank: 500th]
  • 1966: 33 baby girls named Nichelle
  • 1965: 14 baby girls named Nichelle

The actress was born Grace Dell Nichols in Illinois in 1932.

At 13 or 14, tired of being called Gracie by her friends, she requested a different name from her mother, who liked Michelle but suggested Nichelle for the alliteration.

Star Trek ran for three seasons before being canceled due to low ratings. The final episode was broadcast in June of 1969.

After being put into syndication during the 1970s, however, the series became an unexpected hit. This success led to a handful of U.S. baby girls being named Uhura during the 1970s, and eventually to the franchise’s first movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which was released in late 1979 (two and a half years after Star Wars).

What are your thoughts on the name Nichelle? How about Uhura?

Sources:

Images: Nichelle Nichols, NASA Recruiter (NASA); Clipping from the cover of Ebony magazine (Jan. 1967)

[Latest update: Jan. 2025]