Meaning and history
Nicholas comes from the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos), meaning “victory of the people,” from νίκη (nike), “victory,” and λαός (laos), “people.” The name is associated with Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, rescued the daughters of a poor man from prostitution, and who became the patron saint of children, sailors, merchants, Greece, and Russia. He also formed the basis of Santa Claus, created in the 19th century from Dutch Sinterklaas as the bringer of Christmas presents. Because of the saint’s fame, Nicholas has been widely used in the Christian world, been common in England since the 12th century, declined somewhat after the Protestant Reformation, and has been borne by five popes and two tsars of Russia.
20062006: 15,675 births, rank #17
2007: 14,362 births, rank #20
2008: 12,533 births, rank #29
2009: 10,856 births, rank #32
2010: 9,653 births, rank #37
20112011: 8,601 births, rank #42
2012: 7,742 births, rank #49
2013: 7,147 births, rank #54
2014: 6,779 births, rank #57
2015: 6,263 births, rank #62
20162016: 5,765 births, rank #63
2017: 5,372 births, rank #68
2018: 4,847 births, rank #74
2019: 4,642 births, rank #78
2020: 4,065 births, rank #87
20212021: 3,866 births, rank #92
2022: 3,643 births, rank #97
2023: 3,261 births, rank #109
2024: 3,038 births, rank #117
20252025: 3,115 births, rank #112
Nicholas rose from #117 to #112 for boys between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1995, with 29,160 births.