Nick
Nick was given to 124 boys in 2025, #1,447 among boys’ names; 50,589 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 26,400 Americans named Nick and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (52% of everyone recorded); the median is 56 years old and half are between 37 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nick by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Nick mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Nick is “a diminutive of the male given name Nicholas.”
/nɪk/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Nick?
#1,447 among boys’ names, 2025
Nick fell from #1,214 in 2015 to #1,447 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 79.3 to 72.6 per million.
1,098 babies in 1960, the peak
Nick peaked in 1960, when 1,098 boys were given it, #242 among boys’ names. The 124 births of 2025 are 11% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 124 | #1,447 | 0.07 |
| 2024 | 130 | #1,421 | 0.08 |
| 2023 | 143 | #1,334 | 0.08 |
| 2022 | 137 | #1,372 | 0.08 |
| 2021 | 133 | #1,382 | 0.08 |
| 2020 | 122 | #1,421 | 0.07 |
| 2019 | 141 | #1,307 | 0.08 |
| 2018 | 123 | #1,429 | 0.07 |
| 2017 | 147 | #1,247 | 0.08 |
| 2016 | 175 | #1,117 | 0.09 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 152 | #1,214 | 0.08 |
| 2014 | 157 | #1,185 | 0.08 |
| 2013 | 174 | #1,079 | 0.09 |
| 2012 | 157 | #1,166 | 0.08 |
| 2011 | 154 | #1,165 | 0.08 |
| 2010 | 176 | #1,096 | 0.09 |
| 2009 | 197 | #1,001 | 0.10 |
| 2008 | 236 | #891 | 0.12 |
| 2007 | 227 | #887 | 0.11 |
| 2006 | 251 | #814 | 0.12 |
| 2005 | 233 | #813 | 0.12 |
| 2004 | 208 | #854 | 0.10 |
| 2003 | 203 | #853 | 0.10 |
| 2002 | 201 | #829 | 0.10 |
| 2001 | 198 | #826 | 0.10 |
| 2000 | 217 | #766 | 0.11 |
| 1999 | 204 | #777 | 0.11 |
| 1998 | 179 | #827 | 0.09 |
| 1997 | 147 | #925 | 0.08 |
| 1996 | 173 | #828 | 0.09 |
| 1995 | 217 | #723 | 0.11 |
| 1994 | 197 | #747 | 0.10 |
| 1993 | 217 | #704 | 0.11 |
| 1992 | 226 | #686 | 0.11 |
| 1991 | 197 | #718 | 0.10 |
| 1990 | 232 | #661 | 0.11 |
| 1989 | 251 | #627 | 0.13 |
| 1988 | 241 | #609 | 0.13 |
| 1987 | 274 | #549 | 0.15 |
| 1986 | 292 | #521 | 0.16 |
| 1985 | 255 | #551 | 0.14 |
| 1984 | 278 | #510 | 0.15 |
| 1983 | 259 | #520 | 0.14 |
| 1982 | 267 | #522 | 0.15 |
| 1981 | 293 | #489 | 0.16 |
| 1980 | 317 | #472 | 0.18 |
| 1979 | 373 | #411 | 0.22 |
| 1978 | 402 | #389 | 0.24 |
| 1977 | 425 | #379 | 0.26 |
| 1976 | 405 | #382 | 0.26 |
| 1975 | 447 | #370 | 0.29 |
| 1974 | 504 | #344 | 0.32 |
| 1973 | 550 | #320 | 0.35 |
| 1972 | 553 | #325 | 0.34 |
| 1971 | 565 | #330 | 0.32 |
| 1970 | 666 | #304 | 0.36 |
| 1969 | 655 | #298 | 0.37 |
| 1968 | 665 | #285 | 0.38 |
| 1967 | 682 | #276 | 0.39 |
| 1966 | 685 | #279 | 0.38 |
| 1965 | 718 | #281 | 0.39 |
| 1964 | 798 | #273 | 0.40 |
| 1963 | 871 | #261 | 0.43 |
| 1962 | 896 | #257 | 0.43 |
| 1961 | 936 | #256 | 0.44 |
| 1960 | 1,098 | #242 | 0.51 |
| 1959 | 1,054 | #247 | 0.49 |
| 1958 | 848 | #266 | 0.40 |
| 1957 | 690 | #282 | 0.32 |
| 1956 | 493 | #336 | 0.23 |
| 1955 | 471 | #337 | 0.23 |
| 1954 | 430 | #342 | 0.21 |
| 1953 | 419 | #339 | 0.21 |
| 1952 | 420 | #339 | 0.22 |
| 1951 | 448 | #323 | 0.24 |
| 1950 | 422 | #329 | 0.24 |
| 1949 | 446 | #326 | 0.25 |
| 1948 | 547 | #294 | 0.31 |
| 1947 | 646 | #264 | 0.35 |
| 1946 | 565 | #268 | 0.35 |
| 1945 | 491 | #266 | 0.36 |
| 1944 | 498 | #267 | 0.37 |
| 1943 | 558 | #252 | 0.39 |
| 1942 | 520 | #258 | 0.38 |
| 1941 | 440 | #273 | 0.36 |
| 1940 | 409 | #277 | 0.35 |
| 1939 | 405 | #272 | 0.37 |
| 1938 | 400 | #278 | 0.36 |
| 1937 | 395 | #275 | 0.37 |
| 1936 | 421 | #262 | 0.41 |
| 1935 | 456 | #255 | 0.44 |
| 1934 | 465 | #248 | 0.45 |
| 1933 | 499 | #231 | 0.50 |
| 1932 | 490 | #241 | 0.47 |
| 1931 | 512 | #231 | 0.49 |
| 1930 | 630 | #210 | 0.57 |
| 1929 | 588 | #216 | 0.55 |
| 1928 | 604 | #217 | 0.55 |
| 1927 | 616 | #216 | 0.55 |
| 1926 | 642 | #213 | 0.58 |
| 1925 | 691 | #203 | 0.62 |
| 1924 | 747 | #189 | 0.66 |
| 1923 | 690 | #198 | 0.63 |
| 1922 | 790 | #178 | 0.73 |
| 1921 | 765 | #183 | 0.69 |
| 1920 | 699 | #194 | 0.66 |
| 1919 | 682 | #188 | 0.70 |
| 1918 | 761 | #173 | 0.75 |
| 1917 | 705 | #177 | 0.76 |
| 1916 | 656 | #182 | 0.74 |
| 1915 | 642 | #177 | 0.76 |
| 1914 | 425 | #196 | 0.65 |
| 1913 | 310 | #211 | 0.60 |
| 1912 | 248 | #219 | 0.58 |
| 1911 | 130 | #220 | 0.58 |
| 1910 | 124 | #209 | 0.64 |
| 1909 | 79 | #251 | 0.48 |
| 1908 | 84 | #228 | 0.54 |
| 1907 | 77 | #232 | 0.52 |
| 1906 | 67 | #239 | 0.50 |
| 1905 | 52 | #275 | 0.39 |
| 1904 | 57 | #255 | 0.44 |
| 1903 | 46 | #275 | 0.39 |
| 1902 | 37 | #324 | 0.30 |
| 1901 | 40 | #274 | 0.38 |
| 1900 | 49 | #300 | 0.33 |
| 1899 | 28 | #342 | 0.26 |
| 1898 | 37 | #319 | 0.30 |
| 1897 | 39 | #296 | 0.35 |
| 1896 | 31 | #350 | 0.26 |
| 1895 | 29 | #344 | 0.25 |
| 1894 | 38 | #287 | 0.33 |
| 1893 | 22 | #389 | 0.20 |
| 1892 | 37 | #308 | 0.30 |
| 1891 | 40 | #255 | 0.40 |
| 1890 | 45 | #253 | 0.41 |
| 1889 | 34 | #292 | 0.31 |
| 1888 | 48 | #255 | 0.40 |
| 1887 | 29 | #309 | 0.29 |
| 1886 | 47 | #251 | 0.42 |
| 1885 | 38 | #272 | 0.35 |
| 1884 | 48 | #250 | 0.42 |
| 1883 | 36 | #277 | 0.34 |
| 1882 | 35 | #293 | 0.31 |
| 1881 | 39 | #255 | 0.39 |
| 1880 | 40 | #269 | 0.36 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Nick a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Nick has been given almost only to boys: 132 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Nick: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nick, and how old are they?
26,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 52% of the 50,589 Americans ever recorded as Nick. The median Nick alive today is 56 years old; half are between 37 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 115,412 people named Nick (1,076 women and girls, 114,336 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 28,593 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4.0 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,640 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 8,530 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 7,580 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,670 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,140 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,840 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Nick born?
The states with the most babies named Nick are California, New York and Pennsylvania, with 34% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 6,291 | #1,029 | 1.7× |
| New York | 4,207 | #977 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 4,187 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 4,162 | #1,427 | 1.6× |
| Ohio | 3,707 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Texas | 2,669 | #1,860 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 2,141 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 1,639 | #1,138 | 1.1× |
| Indiana | 1,226 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Wisconsin | 1,068 | not ranked | 0.9× |
Where Nick is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Nick is most over-represented in Alaska: since 1910 it was given 3.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Nick with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 50,883 babies since 1880, Nick is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 124 of their 131 babies (95%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Nick
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Nick and names like it
- Compare Nick and NikBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sNick peaked in 1960.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nick since 1910.
- The top names of 1960The year the most babies were named Nick.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Nick alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with NMost given first.