Nic

Boys' name

Short form of Nicholas

Nic has been given to 77 babies in the U.S. since 1961. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1977, with 10 recorded.

Babies named Nic, 2015

1 in 740,000

Nic over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Nic: meaning, origin, and history

Short form of Nicholas

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Nic means

Nic is a short form of Nicholas.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Nic is used in English.

Another recorded pronunciation is /ˈnɪk/ for Nic.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Nic → Nicholas. The family’s meaning is “victory + people”, recorded in English with the source elements νίκη and λαός.

Origin, language, and formation

Nic is used in English and Norman.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Nicholas, Nicola, Nichola and Nicole.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 77 boys were recorded with the name Nic between 1961 and 2015. Its highest annual count was 10 in 1977; its best national rank was #3,568 in 1961.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Nic?

Nic had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2015, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2015: 1 in 740,000; 5 of 3,701,574 births
Among boys only: 1 in 383,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2015: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 513,148 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Nic sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2015 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 513,148 children born in 2015 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Nic. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Nics were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Nic was born before 1977 — so the typical Nic is around 48 today.

Median birth year: 1977; About 48 years old
Biggest decade: 1970s; 31.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 40.3%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 77; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1970s — 31.2% of all recorded uses (24).

Is Nic rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1977 (10)
Years since peak: 48; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Shifting; 23.8% average annual change
Best rank ever: #3,568; 1961

Nic by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #3,568; 1961
Peak year: 1977; 10 that year
First recorded: 1961
Last recorded: 2015
All-time count: 77
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Nic

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Nicko Nicos Niclas Nicol Nickan Nicki Nicco Nicasio Nickson Yonic Nichael Nicolus Nicoles Nicandro Nicholi Nichola Nichol Nicklus Nicho Nicolis Domnic Nichoals Nicolae Nichole

Sibling names for Nic

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Jason Kevin Sommer Tamar Salina Jamila Corrie Shanta

For a brother

Torrey Tory Rodrick Delvin Andrea Cedrick Jamey Donny

Explore around Nic

Top names of 1977, Nic's peak year The 1970s in full Other names that peaked in 1961 Boys' names starting with N Norman Boy Names Norman Names