How popular is the baby name Nicola 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 Nicola.

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Popularity of the baby name Nicola


Posts that mention the name Nicola

Baby names needed: Boy and girl names for fraternal twins

A reader named Abby is expecting fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, in October. She and her husband already have a son named Leo Sebastian.

They’re aiming for vintage names (with kind of a quirky/British feel) that aren’t too popular. These are their favorites so far, top picks in italics.

 Boy NamesGirl Names
Her Picks:Edward (Teddy)
Henry
Jasper
Jude
Maxwell (Max)
Oliver		Alice
Elsa (Elsie)
Ivy
Juliet
Violet
His Picks:August (Auggie/Gus)
Dashiell (Dash)		Beatrix
Felicity
Matilda
Penelope (Nellie)
Ramona

Abby says, “He thinks mine are slightly boring, I think his are a tad too flamboyant.”

They’d like our opinions on two things:

  1. What other boy and girl names would we suggest?
  2. Out of the current favorites, what are the best pairings?

The twins’ surname will be similar to Waters.

Here are my thoughts…

1. First, name suggestions. Most of these names have a vintage feel, and none of are currently in the top 100 (though several are heading that way).

Boy NamesGirl Names
Archer
Byron
Calvin
Elias
Felix
Gideon
Graham
Grant
Heath
Hugh
Niles
Oscar
Pierce
Roman
Rufus
Seth
Silas
Simon
Theodore (Teddy)
Tobias		Adele/Adeline
Camille
Cecily
Celia
Corinne
Daphne
Eloise
Esme
Eugenia
Flora
Hazel
Helena
Iris
Jane
Josephine
Marion
Millicent (Millie)
Nicola
Rosamund
Stella

I didn’t include any w-names, but I was tempted to throw in Willa and Winifred (Winnie). Maybe even Wilhelmina (Minnie).

2. Out of the current favorites, Henry and Penelope are the two I like best for twins. I also like Maxwell and Beatrix (because both have that quirky x).

What other names/pairings would you suggest to Abby?

Girl names for parents who don’t like girl names

Some parents see names like Angelina, Isabella, and Olivia and think, “I’m not going to bother weeding through these frilly, dainty names on the off chance I find a good one. Forget it. I’m gonna flip ahead to the boy names.”

What these parents might not realize, though, is that there are plenty of strong, non-girlie girl names out there. Here are three types I’ve come up with.

Girl Names with Boyish Nicknames

A boy name wrapped in a girl name — the best of both worlds. Most of the full names below are based on boy names, so they simply shorten to the same pet forms.

Alex – Alexandra
Andy – Andrea, Miranda
Bernie – Bernadette
Cal – Calista, Calla
Clem – Clementine
Dan – Danielle
Ernie – Ernestine
Frank – Frances
Gerry – Geraldine
Gus – Augusta		Jack – Jacqueline
Jo – Josephine, Johanna
Max – Maxine
Mo – Monique, Maureen
Nick – Nicole, Monica, Veronica
Rick – Erica
Rob – Roberta
Sal – Salome, Sarah
Tony – Antonia
Will – Wilhelmina

Girl Names with Lots of Consonants

Girl names with at least as many consonants as vowels tend to sound much more serious than vowel-laden girl names. Especially if they end with a consonant (or a consonant-sound).

Adele*
Agnes
Alice
Ardith
Astrid
Blanche
Bridget
Brooke
Carmen
Claire*		Edith
Eleanor*
Elizabeth
Enid
Esther
Gertrude
Gretchen
Harriet
Helen
Hester		Imogene*
Ingrid
Jane
Janet
Jill
Joan
Judith
Katherine
Laurel
Mabel		Margaret
Marion
Maude*
Megan
Meredith
Nadine
Rachel
Ruth
Sibyl
Tamar

*Technically, these names have more vowels than consonants. But it doesn’t sound like they do, and that’s the important part.

Girl Names with Unusual Letters/Sounds

Unusual things command your attention. They may seem odd, but, because they stand out, they also tend to seem bold.

Beatrix
Beulah
Eugenia
Eunice
Gwyneth
Hazel		Izora
Maeve
Tirzah
Tallulah
Ursula
Violet		Winifred
Winona
Yolanda
Zelda
Zenobia
Zillah

What other types of girl names would you add to this list?

Baby name needed: Middle name for a girl named Reid

A reader named Andy writes:

My wife and I are looking at using “Reid” for a girl (we don’t know what we’re having but we have the boy named locked down). My middle name is Reid, which comes from my grandmother’s maiden name. We are struggling with a middle name to sandwich between Reid and our last name, Roney* (pronounced with a long O). We want it to identify that Reid is a girl’s name.

I think a clearly feminine middle is a great idea. Let’s see…how about:

Abigail
Alyssa
Amanda
Amelia
Anastasia
Angelina
Bianca
Calista
Elizabeth
Emilia
Felicia
Genevieve
Isabella		Johanna
Juliette
Kathleen
Louise
Lydia
Melinda
Nicola
Olivia
Sophia
Susan
Susannah
Sylvia
Vanessa

I avoided R-names for obvious reasons, but I’m now wondering: would a middle containing an R sound nice? I’m kind of on the fence about it, but who knows–maybe one the following could work:

Audrianna
Beatrice
Catrina
Gabriela		Katherine
Patricia
Sabrina
Victoria

Do you guys like any of the above with the first name Reid? What other middle names would you suggest to Andy?

*The actual surname is not Roney, but it’s similar.

Popular baby names in Malta, 2007

Flag of Malta
Flag of Malta

Malta seems to be having some trouble tallying baby names. According to the island’s National Statistics Office, these were the top boy names of 2007:

  1. Luke/Luca, 98 baby boys
  2. Matthew/Matteo/Matthias, 88
  3. Jake, 56
  4. Julian, 40
  5. John/Gianni/Jean/Juan/Sean, 38
  6. Nicholas/Nikolai & Aiden, 37 (tie)
  7. Kieran, 35
  8. Isaac, 34
  9. Andrew/André/Andrea & Zack, 33 (tie)
  10. Nathan/Nathaniel, 32
  11. Jeremy/Jerome & James/Jamie & Jayden, 31 (tie)
  12. Daniel & Gabriel & Miguel, 29 (tie)
  13. Liam, 28
  14. Alexander/Alessandro/Alejandro & Neil, 26 (tie)
  15. Michael/Mikiel/Mikail/Michele & Carl/Carlo/Karl & Kyle, 24 (3-way tie)
  16. Benjamin & Thomas/Tommaso, 20 (tie)
  17. Christian/Kristian, 18
  18. Mark/Marc/Marco, 17
  19. Dejan & Denzel, 16 (tie)
  20. Kayden, 13

There’s nothing wrong with the list itself. But problems begin when you try to compare this list with the 2006 list.

For instance, in 2006, 49 boys were named Michael or Michele. A year later, there’s no way to tell if either of these names has became more or less popular — all we know is that 24 boys were named Michael, Michele Mikiel or Mikail, and that 29 boys were named Miguel specifically.

And that’s just the beginning. Between 2006 and 2007, Nicholas became Nicholas/Nikolai, Thomas became Thomas/Tommaso, and James became James/Jamie. Alexander became Alexander/Alessandro/Alejandro, while (accent-less) Andre became Andrew/André/Andrea. All of these odd groupings make it impossible to draw conclusions about how the popularity level of a specific name has changed over time.

I am also suspicious about spelling. Aidan (#6) and Jaydon (#19) from the 2006 list seemed to morph into Aiden (#6) and Jayden (#11) in 2007.

Finally — and this may be nit-picky — I dislike how Jeremy and Jerome were lumped together. The names may look alike, but they are unrelated.

I have issues with the girl names as well:

  1. Maria/Mariah, 73 baby girls
  2. Martina, 47
  3. Julia/Giulia, 42
  4. Christina/Kristina/Christine/Christa, 41
  5. Elisa/Eliza/Elizabeth, 39
  6. Sarah, 36
  7. Emma & Maya, 34 (tie)
  8. Nicole/Nicola/Nicolette, 31
  9. Amy & Jasmine/Yasmine, 30 (tie)
  10. Michela/Michelle, 29
  11. Katrina/Katie & Shania, 27 (tie)
  12. Aaliyah & Hayley & Jade, 21 (tie)
  13. Alexandra/Alessandra/Alessia, 20
  14. Francesca & Ylenia, 19 (tie)
  15. Kylie, 18
  16. Kaya, 17
  17. Emily & Kayleigh, 16 (tie)
  18. Kelsey & Leah & Rihanna & Thea, 15 (4-way tie)
  19. Ella & Elena & Kiera & Kyra, 14 (4-way tie)
  20. Hannah, 13

Between 2006 and 2007, Julia became Julia/Giula, Nicole became Nicole/Nicola/Nicolette, Jasmin (sans e) became Jasmine/Yasmine, and Elisa/Eliza became Elisa/Eliza/Elisabeth. Michela went from being grouped with Michaela to being grouped with Michelle.

And, as with the boys, I don’t think spelling stayed consistent. Hailey (#10, 2006) became Hayley (#12, 2007) and Kaylie (#17, 2006) became Kayleigh (#17, 2007).

Malta, you’re driving me crazy! I hope the top names of 2008 are listed more logically, i.e., using name-groupings that have been used before.

Source: Naming Babies: 2007 [pdf]

Image: Adapted from Flag of Malta (public domain)