US baby names · Boys · 1880–2025
Nicholas: name popularity by year
How often US parents chose Nicholas for a baby boy, year by year, from Social Security Administration records. When it peaked, how long it stayed in the top 10, and which generation it belongs to.
Nicholas was one of the 10 most common boys' names in the US in 10 years, between 1993 and 2002, reaching #5. Births peaked in 1995, when 29,160 baby boys were named Nicholas, so by peak year it is a Millennials name.
Nicholas in the US top 10, by year
Rank among boys' names, #1 at the top. Blank years: outside the top 10. Dashed line: the year with the most babies named Nicholas (1995).
Top-10 years by generation
| Generation | Years in top 10 | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| Millennials | 4 (1993–1996) | #6 |
| Generation Z | 6 (1997–2002) | #5 |
Questions people ask
When was the name Nicholas most popular?
By number of babies, in 1995, when 29,160 boys were given the name. By rank, it reached #5 and spent 10 years in the top 10.
What generation is the name Nicholas?
Its peak year, 1995, falls in Millennials (1981–1996). Its 10 top-10 years fall in: Millennials (4), Generation Z (6).
How many people have been named Nicholas?
SSA counted 926,047 boys named Nicholas born from 1880 to 2025. That is births, not people alive today, and it misses many people born before 1937 who never applied for a Social Security card.
In the top 10 at the same time
Source: US Social Security Administration baby-name data, from Social Security card applications for births in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 1880–2025. Many people born before 1937 never applied for a card, so early years undercount. Spellings are counted separately. We hold each year's top 10 in rank order and each name's peak-year and all-time counts, so the chart shows rank rather than births per year. This page gives no meaning or origin for the name and no estimate of how many people named Nicholas are alive today.