Nikolaos
Masculine · “victory of the people”
Nikolaos is the Greek original of Nicholas — victory of the people — and Nike is both the goddess and the word.
How old is the name Nikolaos?
Nikolaos first appears in US birth records in 1962 — 63 years ago. The typical Nikolaos alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 2,000 people named Nikolaos are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nikolaos most popular?
Nikolaos peaked in 1979, reaching #1340 nationally. Today it ranks #2572, 1,232 places below that high. See the whole 1979 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From nike laos to Nikolaos
The story of Nikolaos
Nike is a goddess and a common noun at once, which Greek did easily; the Nike of Samothrace is one of the great surviving sculptures. Nicholas of Myra became the patron of children and, by way of Dutch Sinterklaas, Santa Claus. Nikolaos is standard in Greece and is in current American use.
Meaning
victory of the people
From the Greek nike, 'victory', and laos, 'people'. Nike was the winged goddess of victory and the ordinary noun alike. Nikolaos is the Greek form; Latin gave Nicolaus and English Nicholas. The Greek is documented.
How the name formed
- nike laos
- Nikolaos
Related forms: Νικόλαος · Nicholas · Nikolai
Pronouncing Nikolaos
nee-KOH-lah-os
Four syllables, stress on the second. English Nicholas is NIK-uh-lus.
Nicknames for Nikolaos
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
- 1962
- Most boys named
- 201458 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1340reached in 1979
- Change vs 2024
- +8.5%51 in 2025, from 47
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.
Nikolaos in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Νικόλαος in Greek — transliteration
- Nicholas in English — related form
- Nikolai in Russian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Illinois, California.
Nikolaoss among us
people named Nikolaos are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 33,492 born in 2025 was named Nikolaos
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 Dagoberto test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nikolaos's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Dagoberto climbed just as high around 1960, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Dagoberto's path sketches the road Nikolaos is walking now.
Nikolaos 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 Nikolaos is headed
Nikolaos should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Nikolaos beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nikolaos in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That Nike is a goddess and an ordinary word at once is a first-rate fact.
- Nikos and Nick are two short forms, both with real records.
- It is the original Greek form of a very widespread name.
- Four syllables make it long for everyday use.
- Nicholas is what English speakers will substitute.
- It reads as specifically Greek.
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What they receive
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Nikolaos
Masculine · #2572 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nikolaoss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,000 people named Nikolaos are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nikolaos in 2025?
- Nikolaos ranks #2572 among US boy names in 2025, with 51 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nikolaos?
- About 1 in every 33,492 US boys born in 2025 was named Nikolaos — 51 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nikolaos with classmates?
- Nikolaos will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nikolaos
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Nicolai#2572 · Parth#2572 · Willem#2572 · Duane#2572 · Efraim#2572 · Zair#2572 · Ripp#2572 · Stryker#2572
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nikolaos? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nikolaos and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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