Nicola
Nicola is given to both girls and boys: 12 girls and 28 boys were given it in 2025 (#8,718 among girls’ names and #3,919 among boys’, #6,589 among all names counting both); 8,090 Americans have been recorded with it since 1908 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 6,980 Americans named Nicola and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (86% of everyone recorded); the median is 43 years old and half are between 28 and 55.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nicola by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Nicola mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Nicola is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.”
A feminine version of Nicholas, first used in the 20th century.
/nɪˈkoʊlə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Nicola?
#8,718 among girls’ names, 2025
Nicola fell from #6,188 in 2015 to #8,718 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 11.8 to 7.5 per million.
236 babies in 1972, the peak
Nicola peaked in 1972, when 236 babies were given it (183 girls, #762 among girls’ names). The 40 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 17% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12 | #8,718 | 28 | #3,919 |
| 2024 | 15 | #7,496 | 35 | #3,370 |
| 2023 | 19 | #6,338 | 29 | #3,853 |
| 2022 | 13 | #8,387 | 37 | #3,256 |
| 2021 | 9 | #10,888 | 35 | #3,340 |
| 2020 | 10 | #10,069 | 26 | #3,991 |
| 2019 | 16 | #7,241 | 27 | #3,963 |
| 2018 | 15 | #7,656 | 28 | #3,853 |
| 2017 | 11 | #9,769 | 26 | #4,060 |
| 2016 | 21 | #6,131 | 20 | #4,889 |
Every recorded year (117)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 21 | #6,188 | 31 | #3,565 |
| 2014 | 33 | #4,425 | 18 | #5,199 |
| 2013 | 16 | #7,649 | 22 | #4,419 |
| 2012 | 37 | #4,095 | 23 | #4,344 |
| 2011 | 30 | #4,780 | 27 | #3,862 |
| 2010 | 33 | #4,470 | 23 | #4,331 |
| 2009 | 34 | #4,446 | 28 | #3,794 |
| 2008 | 39 | #4,064 | 37 | #3,146 |
| 2007 | 47 | #3,517 | 37 | #3,116 |
| 2006 | 40 | #3,836 | 30 | #3,500 |
| 2005 | 50 | #3,155 | 26 | #3,687 |
| 2004 | 70 | #2,436 | 33 | #3,052 |
| 2003 | 60 | #2,661 | 40 | #2,562 |
| 2002 | 76 | #2,191 | 33 | #2,864 |
| 2001 | 58 | #2,619 | 42 | #2,367 |
| 2000 | 54 | #2,728 | 43 | #2,280 |
| 1999 | 66 | #2,275 | 41 | #2,252 |
| 1998 | 68 | #2,136 | 35 | #2,483 |
| 1997 | 67 | #2,106 | 48 | #1,922 |
| 1996 | 73 | #1,955 | 40 | #2,126 |
| 1995 | 77 | #1,844 | 42 | #2,006 |
| 1994 | 76 | #1,880 | 38 | #2,158 |
| 1993 | 83 | #1,767 | 38 | #2,110 |
| 1992 | 95 | #1,614 | 43 | #1,896 |
| 1991 | 85 | #1,716 | 46 | #1,754 |
| 1990 | 94 | #1,598 | 42 | #1,857 |
| 1989 | 84 | #1,644 | 48 | #1,648 |
| 1988 | 64 | #1,924 | 33 | #1,974 |
| 1987 | 79 | #1,587 | 25 | #2,309 |
| 1986 | 81 | #1,520 | 29 | #2,038 |
| 1985 | 87 | #1,443 | 34 | #1,779 |
| 1984 | 79 | #1,471 | 31 | #1,823 |
| 1983 | 94 | #1,298 | 27 | #1,997 |
| 1982 | 94 | #1,332 | 31 | #1,840 |
| 1981 | 93 | #1,348 | 31 | #1,847 |
| 1980 | 109 | #1,211 | 31 | #1,839 |
| 1979 | 138 | #1,022 | 42 | #1,455 |
| 1978 | 137 | #998 | 43 | #1,429 |
| 1977 | 109 | #1,156 | 40 | #1,467 |
| 1976 | 121 | #1,028 | 39 | #1,445 |
| 1975 | 129 | #969 | 43 | #1,335 |
| 1974 | 114 | #1,044 | 42 | #1,327 |
| 1973 | 126 | #955 | 47 | #1,216 |
| 1972 | 183 | #762 | 53 | #1,124 |
| 1971 | 143 | #914 | 45 | #1,249 |
| 1970 | 120 | #1,034 | 47 | #1,215 |
| 1969 | 141 | #889 | 47 | #1,146 |
| 1968 | 113 | #981 | 34 | #1,333 |
| 1967 | 87 | #1,138 | 19 | #1,840 |
| 1966 | 72 | #1,280 | 33 | #1,340 |
| 1965 | 58 | #1,455 | 40 | #1,217 |
| 1964 | 44 | #1,770 | 37 | #1,305 |
| 1963 | 54 | #1,536 | 43 | #1,188 |
| 1962 | 51 | #1,588 | 26 | #1,575 |
| 1961 | 35 | #1,983 | 24 | #1,673 |
| 1960 | 30 | #2,133 | 32 | #1,420 |
| 1959 | 20 | #2,648 | 16 | #2,082 |
| 1958 | 36 | #1,841 | 19 | #1,875 |
| 1957 | 28 | #2,104 | 25 | #1,616 |
| 1956 | 27 | #2,138 | 24 | #1,629 |
| 1955 | 41 | #1,609 | 10 | #2,705 |
| 1954 | 36 | #1,723 | 17 | #1,940 |
| 1953 | 31 | #1,817 | 9 | #2,850 |
| 1952 | 22 | #2,245 | 11 | #2,463 |
| 1951 | 17 | #2,542 | 15 | #2,023 |
| 1950 | 30 | #1,753 | 13 | #2,171 |
| 1949 | 39 | #1,482 | 9 | #2,744 |
| 1948 | 50 | #1,306 | 12 | #2,292 |
| 1947 | 35 | #1,623 | 8 | #3,027 |
| 1946 | 46 | #1,283 | 12 | #2,234 |
| 1945 | 38 | #1,305 | 7 | #2,919 |
| 1944 | 17 | #2,174 | 6 | #3,345 |
| 1943 | 16 | #2,320 | under 5 | |
| 1942 | 12 | #2,762 | 9 | #2,658 |
| 1941 | 15 | #2,247 | 9 | #2,602 |
| 1940 | 9 | #3,137 | 12 | #2,154 |
| 1939 | 6 | #4,123 | 8 | #2,753 |
| 1938 | 5 | #4,810 | 8 | #2,799 |
| 1937 | 5 | #4,747 | under 5 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 7 | #3,072 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 9 | #2,655 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 12 | #2,221 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 9 | #2,672 | |
| 1932 | under 5 | 10 | #2,585 | |
| 1931 | under 5 | 13 | #2,173 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 9 | #2,939 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 21 | #1,655 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 16 | #2,022 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 14 | #2,262 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 18 | #1,888 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 16 | #2,057 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 22 | #1,712 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 24 | #1,578 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 13 | #2,442 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 19 | #1,875 | |
| 1920 | 5 | #5,553 | 25 | #1,536 |
| 1919 | under 5 | 28 | #1,373 | |
| 1918 | under 5 | 29 | #1,332 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 23 | #1,519 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 25 | #1,404 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 31 | #1,178 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 18 | #1,477 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 15 | #1,420 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 17 | #1,164 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 6 | #1,681 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 5 | #1,774 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 6 | #1,321 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Nicola a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 8,090 Americans recorded as Nicola, 63% are girls and 37% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Nicola: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nicola, and how old are they?
6,980 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 86% of the 8,090 Americans ever recorded as Nicola. The median Nicola alive today is 43 years old; half are between 28 and 55.
The 2020 Census counted 12,714 people named Nicola (8,682 women and girls, 4,032 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,921 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.8 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 | 87 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 774 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,340 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,850 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,360 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 569 |
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 Nicola born?
The states with the most babies named Nicola are New York, California and New Jersey, with 64% of its births recorded by state since 1910; New Jersey is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,110 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| California | 765 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 252 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 224 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 219 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Florida | 126 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Michigan | 116 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Massachusetts | 111 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Ohio | 103 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Texas | 71 | not ranked | 0.1× |
Where Nicola is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Nicola is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 1.8 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 girls’ 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 Nicola 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 8 names spelled alike, given to 623,443 babies since 1880, Nicola is the second most given (1.3% of them). In 2025 it was given to 40 of their 926 babies (4.3%), the third most given that year.
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 Nicola
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
| Name | Recorded | 1900-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Lesley | 39,098 |
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 Nicola and names like it
- Compare Nicola and NicoleBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sNicola peaked in 1972.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nicola since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Nicola: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1972The year the most babies were named Nicola.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Nicola alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with NMost given first.