Recorded 1913–2023 Boys' name Peak 1982 787 births

Nicanor — boys' name

787 babies named Nicanor in U.S. Social Security records since 1913, with the highest year being 1982. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1910s181920s411930s331940s481950s571960s731970s941980s1171990s1102000s1112010s542020s31
1980s
Peak decade

15% of everyone ever named Nicanor was born in this single decade.

1982
Single peak year

20 babies were named Nicanor in 1982 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Nicanor

The Social Security Administration has registered 787 babies named Nicanor between 1913 and 2023, spanning 111 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Nicanor currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 2023. The name reached its historical peak in 1982, when 20 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Nicanor performed strongest in the 1980s, accumulating 117 births during that ten-year window. Across the 12 decades of recorded activity, Nicanor shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 63 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California. In total, SSA state-level files list Nicanor in 2 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Nicanor in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 787 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Nicanor at a glance

Last recorded 2023

Total births

787

Since 1913

111 years of records

Peak year

1982

20 births that year

Strongest decade: 1980s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 2023

Active since

1913

Recorded for 111 years

Last year on file: 2023

Nicanor popularity over time

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2023–1913

Last recorded 2023
Peak year (1982)
20
Annual births at peak — across 111 years of records
0510152025 202320081996198419721960194619251913 5

Nicanor by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1980s
Peak decade
1980s
117 births that decade — 15% of Nicanor's all-time total
1910s181920s411930s331940s481950s571960s731970s941980s1171990s1102000s1112010s542020s31

Nicanor by state

Where Nicanor concentrates geographically — total births since 1913

Geographically diffuse
Top 2 states by recorded births for the name Nicanor
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
63 8.0%
#2 California
49 6.2%
Texas share of Nicanor's total US births 8.0%
Even split

63 of 787 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 2 reporting states.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Nicanor?
787 babies have been named Nicanor since 1913. It was last recorded in 2023. The peak year was 1982 with 20 births.
When was Nicanor most popular?
Nicanor was most popular in the 1980s decade with 117 total births. The single peak year was 1982.
Where is Nicanor most popular?
The top states for the name Nicanor are Texas (63 births), California (49 births).
How long has the name Nicanor been used?
Nicanor has been recorded in Social Security data since 1913, spanning 111 years of data through 2023.
What names are similar to Nicanor?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Nicholas, Nicolas, Nick, Nickolas, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Nicanor

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1913–2023 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.