Nikos
Masculine · “victory of the people”
Greek names still decline. Nikos is the form you use when he is the subject of a sentence, and when you call across a room to him it changes: the vocative is Niko, without the s. His name is different depending on what you are doing with him.
How old is the name Nikos?
Nikos first appears in US birth records in 1962 — 63 years ago. The typical Nikos alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 900 people named Nikos are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nikos most popular?
Nikos peaked in 1969, reaching #2130 nationally. Today it ranks #6803, 4,673 places below that high. See the whole 1969 chart.
Where it comes from
From Nikolaos to Nikos
The story of Nikos
Greek is one of the few European languages that still inflects personal names for case, and the vocative is heard constantly because it is the form used in address: Nikos becomes Niko, Giorgos becomes Giorgo, Kostas becomes Kosta. English lost its case endings a thousand years ago and finds the idea strange, but it was once the same. Nikos itself is the everyday short form of Nikolaos, which is among the commonest Greek men's names, and it became internationally known through the novelist Nikos Kazantzakis. It reached United States records with Greek migration and had its best year in 1969.
Meaning
victory of the people
Nikos is the modern Greek short form of Nikolaos, from nike, victory, and laos, people. The final -os is the nominative singular masculine ending, which Greek still marks; the vocative drops it, giving Niko. That is a live grammatical distinction, not a nickname, and Greek speakers use both forms daily.
How the name formed
- Nikolaos
- Nikos
Related forms: Nikos · Nikolaos · Niko
Pronouncing Nikos
NEE-koss
Two syllables with the stress on the first. The final s is fully sounded; dropping it produces the vocative, which is a different grammatical form rather than a mispronunciation.
Nicknames for Nikos
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
- 200928 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2130reached in 1969
- Change vs 2024
- −20.0%12 in 2025, from 15
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.
Nikos in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Nikos in Greek — same name
- Nikolaos in Greek — related form
- Niko in Serbian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Pennsylvania.
Nikoss among us
people named Nikos are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 142,340 born in 2025 was named Nikos
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 Charlene test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nikos's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Charlene climbed just as high around 1945, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Charlene's path sketches the road Nikos is walking now.
Nikos 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
Nikos beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nikos 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 and a major saint behind the full name.
- Nick and Niko are both immediately available and completely familiar.
- Marks a Greek heritage unmistakably.
- It is a short form, so Greek relatives may expect Nikolaos on the certificate.
- The final s is often dropped by English speakers, which is the Greek vocative.
- Nikos, Nicos and Nikkos all circulate as transliterations.
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What they receive
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Nikos
Masculine · #6803 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nikoss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Nikos are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nikos in 2025?
- Nikos ranks #6803 among US boy names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nikos?
- About 1 in every 142,340 US boys born in 2025 was named Nikos — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nikos with classmates?
- Nikos will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nikos
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zeb#6803 · Buster#6803 · Fabien#6803 · Eston#6803 · Tyjuan#6803 · Fuad#6803 · Aaiden#6803 · Sanford#6803
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nikos? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nikos 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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