Nick
Masculine · “Victory of the people”
Nick is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 50,457 boys against 132 girls since 1880.
Nick is what English speakers have done to Nicholas for centuries — cut it to one syllable and kept going. It carries a Greek word for victory inside four letters, and it has been written in American records as a full given name, not only a shortening, for well over a century. One syllable, one obvious spelling, and no one has ever asked twice how to say it.
How old is the name Nick?
Nick was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Nick alive today was born around 1954, making them about 71 years old. About 27,500 people named Nick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nick most popular?
Nick peaked in 1918, reaching #173 nationally. Today it ranks #1443, 1,270 places below that high. See the whole 1918 chart.
Nick appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Nikolaos to Nick
The story of Nick
The name begins with Greek Nikolaos, built from nikē, victory, and laos, people. It spread widely through the Christian world thanks to Nicholas of Myra, the fourth-century bishop whose cult reached almost every corner of Europe and eventually turned, by a long and well-documented route, into Santa Claus. English took the name as Nicholas in the Middle Ages and immediately began clipping it, and Nick has served as both a nickname and an independent name in the English-speaking world ever since. American records show it standing on its own, with no Nicholas behind it, from the earliest years such things were counted.
Meaning
Victory of the people
Nick is the English short form of Nicholas, from Greek Nikolaos — nikē, 'victory', plus laos, 'people'. The meaning belongs to the longer name; Nick inherits it.
How the name formed
- Nikolaos
- Nicolaus
- Nicholas
- Nick
Related forms: Nikos · Nico · Kolya · Klaus · Klaas · Nico
Pronouncing Nick
NIK
One syllable, said the same way in every English-speaking country. Nothing about the spelling invites a second guess.
Nicknames for Nick
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19601,098 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #173reached in 1918
- Change vs 2022
- −9.5%124 in 2025, from 137
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.
Nick in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nikos in Greek — related form
- Nico in Italian — related form
- Kolya in Russian — related form
- Klaus in German — related form
- Klaas in Dutch — related form
- Nico in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Nicks among us
people named Nick are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 13,775 born in 2025 was named Nick
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Nick sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Nick is headed
Nick should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Nick beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nick in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled and pronounced correctly on first hearing by nearly everyone — no dictation, no correction, no alternate versions to fend off.
- Recognizable relatives in Greek, Italian, German, Dutch, Spanish and Russian, so the name travels without becoming unrecognizable.
- A documented line back to Greek Nikolaos, in continuous English use since the Middle Ages.
- Works as the full legal name or as the everyday form of Nicholas, so the choice can stay open.
- In English folk speech, Old Nick has long been a euphemism for the devil. It is an old association and rarely raised now, but it exists in dictionaries and older literature.
- Nick is also an ordinary English word — a small cut — and in British and Australian slang it means to steal, as well as the police station. Worth knowing if family or travel takes you there.
- Registered on its own, it gives no formal-length option for a résumé or a diploma; some parents choose Nicholas on the certificate and Nick from day one.
- It is still strongly represented among older generations, which means a boy called Nick today is likely to be the only one in his class and to share the name with men decades his senior.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Nick 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 Nick? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Nick
Masculine · #1443 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nicks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 27,500 people named Nick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nick in 2025?
- Nick ranks #1443 among US boy names in 2025, with 124 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nick?
- About 1 in every 13,775 US boys born in 2025 was named Nick — 124 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nick with classmates?
- Nick will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nick
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Reyansh#1443 · Hampton#1443 · Glenn#1443 · Ilan#1443 · Yair#1443 · Syair#1443 · Khamari#1443 · Darien#1436
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nick? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nick and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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