Nikolai
- #605 for boys in 2025, 469 births
- Peak · boys
- 2018 · 614 births
- Debut · boys
- 6 births
- In top 100 · boys
- neverof 146 years
- Total births · boys
- 11,027since 1960
Nikolai over time
boys
Rank among boys' names. Nikolai has never cracked the top 400 here.
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.
Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.
Show data table
| Year | boys | |
|---|---|---|
| rank | births | |
| 2025 | #605 | 469 |
| 2024 | #593 | 484 |
| 2023 | #602 | 470 |
| 2022 | #582 | 491 |
| 2021 | #480 | 622 |
| 2020 | #545 | 521 |
| 2019 | #514 | 554 |
| 2018 | #473 | 614 |
| 2017 | #507 | 573 |
| 2016 | #480 | 639 |
| 2015 | #474 | 629 |
| 2014 | #539 | 516 |
| 2013 | #585 | 436 |
| 2012 | #601 | 421 |
| 2011 | #640 | 365 |
| 2010 | #732 | 313 |
| 2009 | #760 | 299 |
| 2008 | #899 | 231 |
| 2007 | #949 | 208 |
| 2006 | #1,081 | 163 |
| 2005 | #1,035 | 162 |
| 2004 | #1,124 | 141 |
| 2003 | #1,190 | 124 |
| 2002 | #1,200 | 116 |
| 2001 | #1,231 | 108 |
| 2000 | #1,504 | 80 |
| 1999 | #1,283 | 95 |
| 1998 | #1,280 | 94 |
| 1997 | #1,423 | 76 |
| 1996 | #1,321 | 82 |
| 1995 | #1,448 | 68 |
| 1994 | #1,340 | 76 |
| 1993 | #1,472 | 63 |
| 1992 | #1,472 | 62 |
| 1991 | #1,411 | 65 |
| 1990 | #1,587 | 52 |
| 1989 | #1,678 | 46 |
| 1988 | #1,815 | 37 |
| 1987 | #1,974 | 31 |
| 1986 | #2,007 | 29 |
| 1985 | #1,834 | 32 |
| 1984 | #1,979 | 27 |
| 1983 | #2,577 | 18 |
| 1982 | #2,341 | 21 |
| 1981 | #2,138 | 24 |
| 1980 | #2,058 | 26 |
| 1979 | #1,903 | 28 |
| 1978 | #2,669 | 16 |
| 1977 | #2,008 | 24 |
| 1976 | #1,646 | 32 |
| 1975 | #1,630 | 31 |
| 1974 | #2,050 | 21 |
| 1973 | #2,857 | 12 |
| 1972 | #2,323 | 16 |
| 1971 | #2,813 | 12 |
| 1970 | #3,071 | 10 |
| 1969 | #2,217 | 15 |
| 1968 | — | |
| 1967 | — | |
| 1966 | #3,948 | 5 |
| 1965 | #2,982 | 8 |
| 1964 | #3,050 | 8 |
| 1963 | — | |
| 1962 | #4,033 | 5 |
| 1961 | #4,065 | 5 |
| 1960 | #3,665 | 6 |
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First appearance
1960
The first year at least five boys were named Nikolai! It came in at #3,665, and was given to 6 baby boys.
Quietest stretch: 1961–1963, when fewer than 6 boys a year got the name.
Where Nikolai is popular in 2025
- Rank in state
- Top 10
- 11–50
- 51–100
- 101–500
- 501+
- Not published
Hover or tap a state for its numbers.
Top states · boys
- New Mexico#236 · 1 in 813
- Nebraska#335 · 1 in 1,260
- Connecticut#382 · 1 in 1,887
- Utah#441 · 1 in 1,966
- Colorado#441 · 1 in 2,065
Best ever in a state: #170 in Alaska, 2010.
Show every state
| State | Rank | Births | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | #236 | 8 | 1 in 813 |
| Nebraska | #335 | 7 | 1 in 1,260 |
| Connecticut | #382 | 7 | 1 in 1,887 |
| Colorado | #441 | 13 | 1 in 2,065 |
| Utah | #441 | 10 | 1 in 1,966 |
| Pennsylvania | #442 | 23 | 1 in 2,272 |
| Florida | #443 | 42 | 1 in 2,275 |
| Washington | #474 | 15 | 1 in 2,187 |
| California | #482 | 66 | 1 in 2,659 |
| Georgia | #519 | 20 | 1 in 2,511 |
| Wisconsin | #523 | 9 | 1 in 2,604 |
| South Carolina | #552 | 8 | 1 in 2,650 |
| Arizona | #559 | 12 | 1 in 2,727 |
| Kentucky | #569 | 7 | 1 in 2,934 |
| Indiana | #579 | 11 | 1 in 2,878 |
| Missouri | #597 | 9 | 1 in 3,090 |
| Michigan | #601 | 13 | 1 in 3,092 |
| New York | #601 | 25 | 1 in 3,377 |
| Texas | #661 | 45 | 1 in 3,890 |
| Virginia | #670 | 10 | 1 in 3,725 |
| Tennessee | #672 | 10 | 1 in 3,677 |
| Ohio | #676 | 13 | 1 in 4,041 |
| North Carolina | #678 | 13 | 1 in 3,959 |
| Minnesota | #807 | 5 | 1 in 4,900 |
| New Jersey | #915 | 6 | 1 in 6,628 |
| Illinois | #935 | 8 | 1 in 6,194 |
| Alabama | — | — | — |
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Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.
See more about Nikolai
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
- 60 spots since 2020 (#545 → #605)
- Biggest jump: 139 spots in 2009
- Biggest drop: 102 spots in 2022
Rise & fade · boys
58 yrs to peak
- Debuted 1960
- Peaked 2018 at #473 (614 births)
- Not yet halved from its peak
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 19 yrs
- Top 10: never
- Top 100: never
- Top 1,000: 19 yrs · run 2007–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 2,813
- Highest: 1 in 2,813 boys born in 2021 were named Nikolai (0.04%)
- Latest: 1 in 3,642 boys born in 2025 (0.03%)
- Its best rank, #473 in 2018, was only 1 in 2,958 (0.03%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 2010s
- 45.9% of all boys named Nikolai (5,060) were born in this decade
Show by decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank | Avg rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 52 | #2,217 (1969) | #3,423 |
| 1970s | 202 | #1,630 (1975) | #2,297 |
| 1980s | 291 | #1,678 (1989) | #2,040 |
| 1990s | 733 | #1,280 (1998) | #1,404 |
| 2000s | 1,632 | #760 (2009) | #1,097 |
| 2010s | 5,060 | #473 (2018) | #555 |
| 2020s | 3,057 | #480 (2021) | #568 |
All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.
Want to check a specific year?
See where Nikolai ranked and which names it was up against. Click a point on the chart, or pick a year: