Nicholus
Masculine · “victory of the people”
Nicholus changes the last vowel of a name that, by one straightforward measure, was the most popular saint's name in medieval Europe: the number of churches dedicated to him.
How old is the name Nicholus?
Nicholus first appears in US birth records in 1963 — 62 years ago. The typical Nicholus alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 700 people named Nicholus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nicholus most popular?
Nicholus peaked in 1978, reaching #1326 nationally. See the whole 1978 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Nicholus
Count the medieval church dedications across England, France, Germany, Italy, Greece and Russia and the same name keeps coming up. Something like four hundred medieval churches in England alone carried it, and in Russia he outstripped every other saint by a distance. The reason is partly commercial: he was the patron of sailors and merchants, and dedications follow trade routes, so port towns and market towns across the continent picked him. He is also the patron of children, pawnbrokers, brewers, and the wrongly accused. Very few figures have been claimed by so many different occupations at once, and the popularity is why his name spread as far as it did.
Meaning
victory of the people
The Greek name joins the words for victory and people, and the reading is settled. Only the final vowel in this spelling is unusual.
Pronouncing Nicholus
NIK-uh-lus
Three syllables with the stress in front, said exactly like Nicholas. The altered vowel is not audible.
Nicknames for Nicholus
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
- 1963
- Most boys named
- 197847 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1326reached in 1978
- Change vs 2011
- −33.3%6 in 2015, from 9
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.
Nicholus in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nikolai in Russian — same name
- Nicola in Italian — same name
- Nikolaos in Greek — same name
Nicholuss among us
people named Nicholus 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
Nicholus 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
- Nick and Cole are both available as short forms and both are thoroughly established.
- The meaning is settled and can be given in three words.
- The name is understood everywhere in the Christian world without explanation.
- Nicholas is the standard spelling by an enormous margin and this one will be corrected constantly.
- The changed letter cannot be heard, so the spelling has to be given aloud every time.
- No reason for the spelling is documented, so there is nothing to say when someone asks.
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Nicholus
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Nicholuss 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 Nicholus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nicholus in 2025?
- Nicholus is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Nicholus with classmates?
- Nicholus 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 Nicholus? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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