Nicanor
Masculine · “victorious man”
Nicanor is a Greek name that turns up in two entirely different registers: as a general whose defeat was celebrated as an annual holiday, and as the donor of a set of temple doors that people told stories about for centuries.
How old is the name Nicanor?
Nicanor first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Nicanor alive today was born around 1981, making them about 44 years old. About 600 people named Nicanor are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nicanor most popular?
Nicanor peaked in 1954, reaching #2207 nationally. See the whole 1954 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Nicanor
A Seleucid general of this name was defeated and killed by Judas Maccabeus, and the anniversary was kept as a festival, Nicanor's Day, for a long time afterward. It appears in the rabbinic calendar of days on which fasting was forbidden, and then it quietly stopped being observed, which is an unusual fate for a holiday: not abolished, simply let go of. The other Nicanor is remembered for a set of bronze doors he gave to the Temple in Jerusalem. The story attached to them says they were shipped from Alexandria, that one was thrown overboard in a storm, and that it was found again at the harbor. His ossuary, inscribed with his name and the gift, was dug up on the Mount of Olives in the twentieth century.
Meaning
victorious man
The name joins the Greek words for victory and man, and the reading is settled. The same first element is in Nicholas, Nicodemus and Nike.
Pronouncing Nicanor
nee-kah-NOR
Three syllables with the weight on the last in Spanish. English speakers often say nih-KAY-nor instead, and both are heard.
Nicknames for Nicanor
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1913
- Most boys named
- 198119 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2207reached in 1954
- Change vs 2021
- −12.5%7 in 2023, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Nicanor in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nicanor in Spanish — same name
- Nikanor in Greek — transliteration
Nicanors among us
people named Nicanor are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Nicanor sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled and easy to hand a child in two words.
- Nico is available as a short form and needs no explaining anywhere.
- It is thoroughly established in Spanish-speaking countries and genuinely rare in the United States.
- Two stress patterns are in use and the spelling settles neither, so the name gets said back to you both ways.
- It is three syllables and unfamiliar in English-speaking settings, so it will be spelled aloud often.
- The best-known bearer in the ancient sources is a defeated enemy, which matters to almost nobody but is worth knowing.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Nicanor to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Nicanor? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Nicanor
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Nicanors are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Nicanor are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nicanor in 2025?
- Nicanor is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Nicanor with classmates?
- Nicanor will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More N names
The most-given names starting with N, all years combined.
Nicholas#112 · Nathan#63 · Noah#2 · Nathaniel#140 · Norman#1196 · Nolan#65 · Neil#850 · Nicolas#177
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nicanor? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nicanor and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle