# Nicola (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/nicola/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /nɪˈkoʊlə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Nic |
| Variant spellings | Nichola |
| US babies named this | 8,090 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 3,012 / 5,078 (63% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 4,982, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A feminine version of Nicholas, first used in the 20th century.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 30 | 4,781 |
| 2012 | 37 | 4,097 |
| 2013 | 16 | 7,653 |
| 2014 | 33 | 4,427 |
| 2015 | 21 | 6,190 |
| 2016 | 21 | 6,133 |
| 2017 | 11 | 9,773 |
| 2018 | 15 | 7,660 |
| 2019 | 16 | 7,245 |
| 2020 | 10 | 10,074 |
| 2021 | 9 | 10,893 |
| 2022 | 13 | 8,392 |
| 2023 | 19 | 6,343 |
| 2024 | 15 | 7,500 |
| 2025 | 12 | 8,720 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 27 | 3,864 |
| 2012 | 23 | 4,347 |
| 2013 | 22 | 4,421 |
| 2014 | 18 | 5,203 |
| 2015 | 31 | 3,566 |
| 2016 | 20 | 4,891 |
| 2017 | 26 | 4,064 |
| 2018 | 28 | 3,857 |
| 2019 | 27 | 3,966 |
| 2020 | 26 | 3,994 |
| 2021 | 35 | 3,342 |
| 2022 | 37 | 3,258 |
| 2023 | 29 | 3,856 |
| 2024 | 35 | 3,372 |
| 2025 | 28 | 3,920 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 170 | 289 |
| 2012 | 159 | 302 |
| 2013 | 138 | 335 |
| 2014 | 143 | 324 |
| 2015 | 133 | 352 |
| 2016 | 89 | 485 |
| 2017 | 57 | 715 |
| 2018 | 44 | 843 |
| 2019 | 34 | 1,017 |
| 2020 | 28 | 1,164 |
| 2021 | 26 | 1,259 |
| 2022 | 25 | 1,282 |
| 2023 | 9 | 2,689 |
| 2024 | 12 | 2,253 |
| 2025 | 5 | 4,201 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 3 | 2,863 |
| 2002 | 3 | 3,225 |
| 2004 | 3 | 3,651 |
| 2005 | 4 | 3,208 |
| 2006 | 3 | 4,052 |
| 2011 | 5 | 3,300 |
| 2013 | 4 | 3,822 |
| 2016 | 3 | 4,810 |
| 2017 | 5 | 3,449 |
| 2019 | 6 | 3,013 |
| 2020 | 4 | 3,848 |
| 2023 | 4 | 4,107 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,137 |

## In other languages

- Chinese: 妮古拉
- Czech: Nikola, Nikol
- Danish: Nielsine, Nikoline
- French: Nicole
- German: Nicole
- Hungarian: Nikoletta
- Italian: Nicoletta
- Spanish: Nicolasa

## People named Nicola

- Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland from 2014 to 2023
- Nicola Peltz, American actress
- Nicola Olyslagers, Australian athlete
- Nicola Adams, British boxer
- Nicola Walker, British actress
- Nicola Griffith, British-American writer (b. 1960)
- Nicola Roberts, British singer and musician
- Nicola White, British field hockey player
- Nicola Sanders, British track and field athlete
- Nicola Fairbrother, British judoka
- Nicola Pellow, British computer scientist
- Nicola Boem, cyclist

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.