Nichols
Masculine
Nichols is a surname used as a first name, formed from Nicholas the way Williams is formed from William. Its best-known modern bearer changed his name on the way to becoming one of the few people to win every major American entertainment award.
How old is the name Nichols?
Nichols first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Nichols alive today was born around 1985, making them about 40 years old. About 700 people named Nichols are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nichols most popular?
Nichols peaked in 1987, reaching #1337 nationally. See the whole 1987 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Nichols
Mike Nichols arrived in America as a child refugee from Germany speaking almost no English, made his name in a two-person improvised comedy act, moved to directing on Broadway, and then directed his second film, about a young man and an older woman, which won him the Academy Award. He went on to direct for another fifty years. He is one of a very small number of people to have won the Oscar, the Emmy, the Grammy and the Tony, and he collected them across four entirely different disciplines. He also said, repeatedly, that the comedy act had taught him everything he knew about directing actors.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The surname is built on Nicholas, whose Greek elements are documented. Whether an American first name of this spelling comes from the surname or is a shortening of something else is not recorded.
Pronouncing Nichols
NIK-uls
Two syllables with the stress in front. It is said exactly like the plural of the coin, which is worth knowing in advance.
Nicknames for Nichols
Limited
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
- 1914
- Most boys named
- 198755 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1337reached in 1987
- Change vs 2007
- −28.6%5 in 2009, from 7
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.
Nicholss among us
people named Nichols 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
Nichols 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 first sight and never needs spelling out loud.
- Nick comes off the front as a short form and needs no explaining.
- It sits in the familiar family of surnames Americans use in front position.
- It is a homophone of an ordinary plural noun, which children will find immediately.
- It reads as a surname to nearly everybody, which suits some families and not others.
- No origin is documented for the first name, so the meaning question has nothing settled behind it.
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Nichols
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Nicholss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Nichols are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nichols in 2025?
- Nichols is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Nichols with classmates?
- Nichols 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 Nichols? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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