How common is the surname Nicholas?

27,922 people in the United States had the surname Nicholas in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 11,057 Americans. It ranked 1,258th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Nicholas?

Thomas Ian Nicholas, American actor (born 1980), followed by Drew Nicholas.

Where is the surname Nicholas most common?

Wikidata records people named Nicholas in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

How do you pronounce Nicholas?

Nicholas is /ˈnɪk.ə.ləs/, 3 syllables.

Is the surname Nicholas getting more or less common?

More common. 26,628 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 27,922 in 2010, up 4.9%.

Is Nicholas also a first name?

Yes. Nicholas is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Nicholas

A patronymic surname, carried by 27,922 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈnɪk.ə.ləs/ 3 syllables Soundex N242 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Nicholas is more common than 99.2% of them.

Origin

From Middle English Nicholas, from Old French Nicholas, from Latin Nīcolāus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος (Nikólaos), from νίκη (níkē, “victory”) + λαός (laós, “people”).

Nicholas is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 27,922 people named Nicholas in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 11,057 Americans. That is up 4.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 26,628.

#1,258

rank among US surnames

27,922

people in 2010

9.5

per 100,000 Americans

+4.9%

change since 2000 (was #1,205)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,249	Baca	28,082	10,994
#1,250	Rutherford	28,079	10,996
#1,251	Sorensen	28,069	11,000
#1,252	McCray	28,024	11,017
#1,253	Hastings	28,015	11,021
#1,254	Pierson	27,983	11,033
#1,255	Chacon	27,982	11,034

Who is named Nicholas

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

73% of people named Nicholas identified as white (not Hispanic), 17% as Black (not Hispanic) and 4.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 73%
Black (not Hispanic) 17%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4.2%
Two or more races 2.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.2%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Nicholass

11 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Thomas Ian Nicholas
American actor (born 1980)
Drew Nicholas
American basketball player (born 1981)
Wilson Cary Nicholas
American politician (1761-1820)
Hilda Rix Nicholas
Australian painter (1884–1961)
Denise Nicholas
Actress, born 1944
Robert C. Nicholas
American politician (1757-1856)
Albert Nicholas
American musician (1900-1973)
Samuel Nicholas
1st Commandant of the Marine Corps, 1744–1790
Peter Nicholas
American businessman (1941–2022)
Henry Nicholas
American businessman and convicted felon, born 1959
Paul Nicholas
British actor and singer, born 1944

Notable Nicholass come mostly from the United States (9), Australia (1) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Nicolas
Nickolas
Nikolas

Surnames that sound like Nicholas

Nicholas has the Soundex code N242, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code N242.

Questions

Where does the surname Nicholas come from?: From Middle English Nicholas, from Old French Nicholas, from Latin Nīcolāus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος (Nikólaos), from νίκη (níkē, “victory”) + λαός (laós, “people”).
How common is the surname Nicholas?: 27,922 people in the United States had the surname Nicholas in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 11,057 Americans. It ranked 1,258th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Nicholas?: In the 2010 Census, 73% of people named Nicholas identified as white (not Hispanic), and 17% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Nicholas?: Thomas Ian Nicholas, American actor (born 1980), followed by Drew Nicholas.
Where is the surname Nicholas most common?: Wikidata records people named Nicholas in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
How do you pronounce Nicholas?: Nicholas is /ˈnɪk.ə.ləs/, 3 syllables.
What type of surname is Nicholas?: Nicholas is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Nicholas getting more or less common?: More common. 26,628 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 27,922 in 2010, up 4.9%.
What are other spellings of Nicholas?: Nicolas, Nickolas and Nikolas.
Is Nicholas also a first name?: Yes. Nicholas is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.