How popular is the name Nikolai?

Nikolai ranks 1,030th among boys' names in US records, with 10,723 births since 1960. Over the past decade it accounts for 5,656.

Is Nikolai a unisex name?

No. Nikolai is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.

2016, when 645 children were given the name. It has been in use for 65 years and is still recorded as of 2024.

Nicolae. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.

Boy name#1,030 of boy names

Pronounced N IH1 K OW0 L AY2 (ARPABET)

Nikolai is a boys' name, and first appears in 1960. It has been given to 10,723 children — the 1,030th most common boys' name on record.

It is gaining, with the past decade running 77% ahead of the one before it. Its best single year was 2016, when 645 children were given it.

Nicolae is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.

2016645

These spellings sound identical to Nikolai and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

Phonetic detail

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

How popular is the name Nikolai?: Nikolai ranks 1,030th among boys' names in US records, with 10,723 births since 1960. Over the past decade it accounts for 5,656.
Is Nikolai a unisex name?: No. Nikolai is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Nikolai most popular?: 2016, when 645 children were given the name. It has been in use for 65 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Nikolai spelled?: Nicolae. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.