Head to head · Boys' names
Austin vs Nicholas
#113 vs #112 in 2025 · both stepping back from its peak
Nicholas is a whisker ahead (#112 vs #113 in 2025) and both are stepping back from its peak. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Nicholas leads 4 measures of 6; Austin leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Austin #206, Nicholas #180 — Nicholas higher
- 1890s: Austin #225, Nicholas #175 — Nicholas higher
- 1900s: Austin #231, Nicholas #159 — Nicholas higher
- 1910s: Austin #241, Nicholas #114 — Nicholas higher
- 1920s: Austin #273, Nicholas #129 — Nicholas higher
- 1930s: Austin #341, Nicholas #157 — Nicholas higher
- 1940s: Austin #397, Nicholas #146 — Nicholas higher
- 1950s: Austin #492, Nicholas #139 — Nicholas higher
- 1960s: Austin #544, Nicholas #144 — Nicholas higher
- 1970s: Austin #390, Nicholas #76 — Nicholas higher
- 1980s: Austin #118, Nicholas #18 — Nicholas higher
- 1990s: Austin #24, Nicholas #9 — Nicholas higher
- 2000s: Austin #39, Nicholas #16 — Nicholas higher
- 2010s: Austin #70, Nicholas #58 — Nicholas higher
- 2020s: Austin #103, Nicholas #102 — Nicholas higher
Nicholas stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Austin | Nicholas |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #206 | #180 |
| 1890s | #225 | #175 |
| 1900s | #231 | #159 |
| 1910s | #241 | #114 |
| 1920s | #273 | #129 |
| 1930s | #341 | #157 |
| 1940s | #397 | #146 |
| 1950s | #492 | #139 |
| 1960s | #544 | #144 |
| 1970s | #390 | #76 |
| 1980s | #118 | #18 |
| 1990s | #24 | #9 |
| 2000s | #39 | #16 |
| 2010s | #70 | #58 |
| 2020s | #103 | #102 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Austin
- Canada#49
- England & Wales#88
- Scotland#92
Nicholas
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Austin
great, venerable — via Augustine, from Latin Augustus
Austin is a contracted form of Augustine (Latin Augustinus), itself built on Augustus, the honorific title meaning 'venerable' or 'majestic'.
Augustus → Augustinus → Augustine → Austin
How it traveled
The Latin name Augustinus, formed from the imperial title Augustus, came into English as Augustine and was quickly worn down in speech to Austin — the same way Augustinian friars in England became the Austin Friars. Because it was so common in the medieval period, it hardened into a surname, and it was as a surname that it crossed the Atlantic and attached itself to places, most famously the capital of Texas, named for an early Anglo colonist.
Nicholas
victory of the people
Greek Nikolaos: nike, victory, with laos, the people. Nike was also the goddess of victory, and laos is the word behind laity and laypeople. The compound was an ordinary Greek name long before it belonged to any saint.
Nikolaos → Nicolaus → Nicholas
How it traveled
Nicholas of Myra was a bishop in the fourth century, and almost nothing about his life is documented, which did not stop him becoming the patron saint of sailors, merchants, pawnbrokers, repentant thieves and children. The story that fixed him was the one about secretly providing dowries for three girls, and the secrecy is the part that survived: gifts left at night, from someone who does not want to be seen.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Austin
AW-stin
Two syllables, stress on the first. No regional disagreement worth worrying about in English.
- Aus — The most common clipping, used among friends and family rather than on paper.
- Auggie — Borrowed from the Augustine side of the family tree; also stands alone as a nickname for August.
- Ozzie — An occasional playful reshaping of the opening sound; more often belongs to Oscar or Oswald.
Nicholas
NIK-uh-lus
Three syllables, stress on the first. Spanish and French put it on the last, nee-ko-LAS. Russian Nikolai has the weight at the end too. The h in the English spelling is silent and was added in medieval Latin.
- Nick — The default, and a full name in its own right for a great many men.
- Nico — The Italian and Spanish clip, now widely used in English and by either child.
- Cole — Taken from the middle rather than the front; a full name of its own.
- Klaas — The Dutch short form, still ordinary in the Netherlands.
Who has carried each name
Austin
Austin Butler (b. 1991) — Oscar-nominated for playing Elvis
Nicholas
Nicholas Winton (b. 1909) — Quietly saved 669 children from the Nazis; the world found out 50 years later
Nicholas Hoult (b. 1989) — About a Boy child star turned X-Men and Nosferatu lead
Nicholas Sparks (b. 1965) — Wrote The Notebook
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Austin if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesAustin is 2 syllables to Nicholas's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooAustin is on the national lists of Canada, England & Wales and Scotland
Choose Nicholas if you want…
- a name with more sound in itNicholas runs 3 syllables, Austin 2
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Austin
Strengths
- Spelling and pronunciation match: almost no American needs it repeated or explained.
- A documented line back through medieval English Augustine to Latin Augustinus — an unbroken record of many centuries.
- Charts in Canada, England and Wales, and Scotland as well as the US, so it travels across English-speaking countries without translation.
To consider
- It has a strong generational signature: most Austins alive today are adults in their twenties, so a baby now will share the name mainly with grown-ups rather than classmates.
- The Texas city is the first association for many Americans, which some families like and others would rather avoid.
- Austen and Austyn both exist, so a child will occasionally have the spelling checked — a minor, lifelong correction rather than a real problem.
Nicholas
Strengths
- A settled Greek meaning with both elements traceable to ordinary words.
- The same name in a dozen European languages, usually recognizable on sight.
- Four short forms of genuinely different registers, one of which serves either child.
To consider
- It is very widely used and has been for decades, so it carries no signal at all.
- The Santa Claus connection is unavoidable and children will discover it.
- Nicolas, Nikolas and Nickolas are all in use, so the spelling will be given often.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Austin and Nicholas in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Austin and Nicholas?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- The top-10 club: every name that made it
- Names of the '80s and '90s, currently resting
- The sweet spot: familiar but not everywhere
- Millennial names (born 1981–1996)
- Generation Z names (born 1997–2012)
- all guides
Every list here names both Austin and Nicholas — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Austin or Nicholas — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Austin or Nicholas?
- Nicholas, in 2025: Nicholas ranked #112 with 3,115 babies; Austin ranked #113 with 3,103 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Austin or Nicholas?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Austin moved down 25 places; Nicholas moved down 25 places.
- Which is the older name, Austin or Nicholas?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Austin and Nicholas?
- About 415,000 people named Austin are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 845,000 people named Nicholas are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Austins or Nicholass in the classroom?
- Austin will almost certainly be the only one in school. Nicholas will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Austin, Nicholas and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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