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Nicol

#7,050 in 2025Girls' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Nicol has been given to 2,248 babies in the U.S. since 1956. In 2025 it ranked #7,050 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1970, with 125 recorded.

Babies named Nicol, 2025

1 in 207,000

Nicol over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Nicol: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Nicol means

Nicol has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

The naming story behind Nicol

A separate documented entry treats Nicol as a form of Nicholas. That is a personal-name relationship, which differs from translating the letters of the modern spelling into one universal English word. The linked origin entry identifies the context of this relationship.

A separate documented entry treats Nicol as a form of Nicole. That is a personal-name relationship, which differs from translating the letters of the modern spelling into one universal English word. The linked origin entry identifies the context of this relationship.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 2,220 girls were recorded with the name Nicol between 1956 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 125 in 1970; its best national rank was #1,006 in 1970.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #7,847 in 2020 to #7,050 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #5,978 in 2015 to #7,050 in 2025.

In the United States, 28 boys were recorded with the name Nicol between 1968 and 1973. Its highest annual count was 7 in 1973; its best national rank was #4,371 in 1973.

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.

How common is Nicol?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 207,000
16 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 100,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#7,050
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
143,620 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Nicol sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 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 143,620 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Nicol. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Nicols were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Nicol was born before 1980 — so the typical Nicol is around 45 today.

Median birth year
1980
About 45 years old
Biggest decade
1970s
36.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
28.5%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
2,220
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1970s — 36.4% of all recorded uses (808).

Is Nicol 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
−1,310
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+797
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−1,072
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.73×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
12.8%
Peak was 1970 (125)
Years since peak
55
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
23.3% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,006
1970

Spellings of Nicol

Nicol is not the most common spelling — Nicole is, with 84.8% against Nicol's 0.32%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Nicol is used

Across 1910–2025, Nicol was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 50,000 girls, against 1 in 127,052 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

02 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 50,000
  2. 2Colorado1 in 100,000
  3. 3Louisiana1 in 100,000
  4. 4Michigan1 in 100,000
  5. 5New Jersey1 in 100,000
  6. 6New York1 in 100,000
  7. 7Ohio1 in 100,000
  8. 8Pennsylvania1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Nicol has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Nicol around the world

Where Nicol ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #5,927
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2012–2012
    #665
    in 2012
  • Ireland
    2008–2013
    #747
    in 2013
  • France
    2014–2016
    #6,370
    in 2016
  • Canada
    2006–2006
    #2,939
    in 2006
  • South Australia
    1957–1998
    #710
    in 1998

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Nicol

People whose public names include Nicol, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Nicol in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Nicol. Linked forms have their own page here.

NicholNicolaNicole

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Nicol by the numbers

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

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#7,050
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 797
Best rank ever
#1,006
1970
Peak year
1970
125 that year
First recorded
1956
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
2,220
Count in 2025
16

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#4,371
1973
Peak year
1973
7 that year
First recorded
1968
Last recorded
1973
All-time count
28
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Nicol

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

NickyNicoNicolaNickiNicholNickieNicolinaNicolleNicholasNickoleNicaNicolettaNichelleNiccoleNicciNicieNicholleNicholaNicteNickeyNicheleNickiaNicolasaNickol

Names with a curve like Nicol

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Nicol, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

DonyaJanuaryCicelyShaneDeliciaAngellaLatrinaMendyMalisaShawndaCarisaChristel

Sibling names for Nicol

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

Explore around Nicol

Top names of 1970, Nicol's peak yearThe 1970s in fullOther names that peaked in 1970Girls' names starting with N