Nikoli
Masculine · “Greek nike and laos”
Nicholas is the most dedicated saint in Russia, and the reason is a theft. Merchants from Bari stole his bones from Myra in 1087, the cult spread from the new shrine, and it reached Russia and stayed.
How old is the name Nikoli?
Nikoli first appears in US birth records in 1989 — 36 years ago. The typical Nikoli alive today was born around 2010, making them about 15 years old. About 700 people named Nikoli are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nikoli most popular?
Nikoli peaked in 2010, reaching #2914 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 7,781 places below that high. See the whole 2010 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Nikolaos to Nikoli
The story of Nikoli
Medieval Europe had a recognized genre of pious theft: relics were stolen from one church by another, and the accounts written afterwards explain that the saint wanted to move. In 1087 sailors from Bari took the bones of Nicholas from his tomb in Myra, then under Turkish control, and brought them to Italy, where a basilica was built for them. The cult grew from there and traveled north and east; in Russia Nicholas became the most popular saint by a wide margin, with more churches dedicated to him than to anyone else and two feast days in the calendar. The name followed, borne by two tsars and by a very large share of the male population, and Nikolai remains one of the standard Russian names.
Meaning
Greek nike and laos, victory of the people
From Greek Nikolaos, victory of the people. Nikoli is an American spelling of Nikolai, the Russian form. The peak is 2010.
How the name formed
- Nikolaos
- Nikolai
- Nikoli
Related forms: Nikolai · Nicholas · Niccolo
Pronouncing Nikoli
nih-koh-LY
Three syllables, stress on the last, in the Russian form. Americans often say nih-KOH-lee, moving the stress forward.
Nicknames for Nikoli
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
- 1989
- Most boys named
- 201040 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2914reached in 2010
- Change vs 2024
- −50.0%6 in 2025, from 12
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.
Nikoli in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nikolai in Russian — spelling variant
- Nicholas in English — same name
- Niccolo in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Nikolis among us
people named Nikoli are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Nikoli
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 Ikenna test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nikoli's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ikenna climbed just as high around 1991, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ikenna's path sketches the road Nikoli is walking now.
Nikoli 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
Nikoli beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nikoli in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Nik and Niko are two portable short forms.
- The Greek meaning is documented and transparent.
- The name exists across most of Europe.
- Nikolai is the standard spelling of the Russian form.
- American and Russian stress patterns differ.
- The 2010 peak dates this form.
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Nikoli
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nikolis 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 Nikoli are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nikoli in 2025?
- Nikoli ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nikoli?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Nikoli — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nikoli with classmates?
- Nikoli will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nikoli
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Dudley#10695 · Dell#10695 · Buford#10695 · Toney#10695 · Allison#10695 · Candido#10695 · Jodie#10695 · Nora#10695
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nikoli? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nikoli and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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