Nikita
Masculine · “victor”
Nikita is given to both — 2,890 boys and 10,778 girls since 1880. See Nikita as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Nikita is Greek for a victor, and it is a men's name in Russia and a women's name almost everywhere else — which causes constant confusion.
How old is the name Nikita?
Nikita first appears in US birth records in 1959 — 66 years ago. The typical Nikita alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 2,800 people named Nikita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nikita most popular?
Nikita peaked in 2008, reaching #1428 nationally. Today it ranks #4139, 2,711 places below that high. See the whole 2008 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From nike to Nikita
The story of Nikita
Niketas was a Greek and Byzantine men's name and entered Russian naming with Orthodox Christianity. It remained firmly a men's name there — Nikita Khrushchev is the best-known bearer. A 1990 French film gave the name to a woman and it entered western naming as a women's name entirely on that basis, which is why the two uses have nothing to do with each other.
Meaning
victor, conqueror
From Greek Niketas, on nike, victory; the same root gives Nicholas its first element and names the Greek goddess of victory. Russian took Nikita from Greek through the Orthodox church.
How the name formed
- nike
- Niketas
- Nikita
Related forms: Никита · Niketas · Mykyta
Pronouncing Nikita
nee-KEE-tah
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Russian gives the same shape.
Nicknames for Nikita
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
- 1959
- Most boys named
- 2009116 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1428reached in 2008
- Change vs 2024
- −26.5%25 in 2025, from 34
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.
Nikita in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Никита in Russian — transliteration
- Niketas in Greek — same name
- Mykyta in Ukrainian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Washington, Florida.
Nikitas among us
people named Nikita are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 68,323 born in 2025 was named Nikita
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Herminio test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nikita's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Herminio climbed just as high around 1968, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Herminio's path sketches the road Nikita is walking now.
Nikita 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 Nikita is headed
Nikita is easing off slowly — about 24% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium 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.
Nikita beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nikita in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Greek meaning that is plain and easy to explain.
- Nik is available immediately as an ordinary English short form.
- Very well used in Russia and Ukraine, so it has a large community behind it.
- In English it is read as a women's name and he will correct that constantly.
- The two uses come from entirely different sources and mean the same thing.
- Six letters and three syllables is manageable but not short.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Nikita
Masculine · #4139 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nikitas 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 Nikita are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nikita in 2025?
- Nikita ranks #4139 among US boy names in 2025, with 25 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nikita?
- About 1 in every 68,323 US boys born in 2025 was named Nikita — 25 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nikita with classmates?
- Nikita will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nikita
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Mose#4139 · Lucious#4139 · Karsten#4139 · Hasani#4139 · Jomar#4139 · Fionn#4139 · Josey#4139 · Earnest#4139
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nikita? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nikita 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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