Nichol
Feminine · “victory of the people”
Nichol is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 2,900 girls against 22 boys since 1880.
Nichol was the ordinary English spelling of this name in the Middle Ages, for men. It is not a modern clipping of Nicole at all — it is the older form, the one that gave English the surnames Nicholls, Nixon and Nickson, and it has simply been reissued as a woman's name.
How old is the name Nichol?
Nichol first appears in US birth records in 1944 — 81 years ago. The typical Nichol alive today was born around 1979, making them about 46 years old. About 2,800 people named Nichol are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nichol most popular?
Nichol peaked in 1972, reaching #764 nationally. See the whole 1972 chart.
Where it comes from
From Nikolaos to Nichol
The story of Nichol
Medieval English writers used Nichol and Nicol where modern English writes Nicholas, and the shorter form is all over the records: it is why the surnames exist and why Scotland still uses Nicol as a family name. The modern American Nichol is a different arrival — it appears in the middle of the twentieth century alongside Nicole and Nichole, as the French woman's name with its final e removed. The same six letters, five hundred years apart, from two different directions. The record shows it given to boys as well as girls, which the medieval reading would explain and the modern one would not.
Meaning
victory of the people
The Greek compound joins the word for victory to the word for people. Every form in the family carries it, including this one.
How the name formed
- Nikolaos
- Nichol
- Nichol
Related forms: Nicole · Nicol
Pronouncing Nichol
nih-KOHL
Two syllables with the weight at the back, following Nicole. Read as the medieval English name it would be NIK-ul, front-weighted, and a few families use that.
Nicknames for Nichol
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
- 1944
- Most girls named
- 1979195 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #764reached in 1972
- Change vs 2009
- +20.0%6 in 2014, from 5
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.
Nichol in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nicole in French — related form
- Nicol in Scottish — same name
Nichols among us
people named Nichol 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
Nichol 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
- It is read correctly at sight by anyone who has met Nicole.
- It is a genuine medieval English spelling rather than a modern invention.
- Nikki is a ready short form with a life of its own.
- Nicole and Nichole are both commoner and will be written instead.
- The stress is genuinely unsettled between the old reading and the new one.
- The spelling is recorded for boys as well as girls in the United States.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Nichol 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 Nichol? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Nichol
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Nichols are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,800 people named Nichol are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nichol in 2025?
- Nichol is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Nichol with classmates?
- Nichol will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More N names
The most-given names starting with N, all years combined.
Nancy#965 · Nicole#382 · Natalie#89 · Norma#2002 · Nora#20 · Naomi#47 · Nellie#533 · Nina#324
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nichol? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nichol 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