How rare is the name Nikolai?

8,218 people in the United States have the first name Nikolai, about 1 in 36,752. It ranks #2,814 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census, tied with 2 others.

first name

NIKOLAI

#2,814

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
8,218
About
1 in 36,752
This common or more
80.9%
Who bears it

Of the 8,218 people named Nikolai, 64.6% reported their origin as White, 20.9% as Hispanic or Latino and 7.6% as two or more races. 99.4% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Nikolai peaked in 2016, when 639 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
19602025
Peak year
2016
Births that year
639
In 2025*
469 ▼27%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 11,027 babies have been given the name since 1960. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Nikolai by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 2010s, when it ranked #1,139. The largest share of babies named Nikolai, 63.6%, were born in 2013 or later.

1960s#8,90352
1970s#5,317202
1980s#4,941291
1990s#3,286733
2000s#2,3601,632
2010s#1,1395,060
2020s#1,1533,057
Baby boom 1946–640.2%
Generation X 1965–802.3%
Millennials 1981–966.6%
Generation Z 1997–1227.2%
2013 and later63.6%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Nikolai is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Nikolai has been most common in Nevada (3.4×), Arizona (2.4×), and Florida (2.3×), and least common in Alabama (0.25×).

8,906 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Exactly as common as Nikolai

2 other first names also have 8,218 people.

#2,814 Daxton · 8,218#2,814 Siena · 8,218

Either side of Nikolai

#2,813 Lucian · 8,220#2,814 Daxton · 8,218#2,814 Siena · 8,218#2,817 Tana · 8,201

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Nikolai, most common first.

#2,111 Nicola · 12,714#3,406 Nikole · 6,169#3,813 Nikola · 5,177#4,078 Nikolay · 4,746#8,087 Nicolai · 1,819#10,260 Nicolae · 1,309#11,586 Nikol · 1,101#13,608 Nicholai · 883

Also a last name

As a last name, Nikolai ranks #34,703 of 156,621, with 702 people. See Nikolai as a last name

Compare