# Nicol (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/nicol/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as a patronymic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 5,012 |
| US rank (2010) | 6,729 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 61,601 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.3% (4,850 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

One of the variant spellings of Nichol, a Middle English vernacular form of the given name Nicholas.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Nicol in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 90% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 3.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Nicol in the United Kingdom, the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Nicol

- Donald Nicol, British Byzantinist (1923–2003)
- Alex Nicol, actor, film and television director (1916–2001)
- Erskine Nicol, British artist (1825-1904)

## Similar surnames

Nickel, Nickell, Nicoll, Nickle, Nicola, Nicolai, Nicely, Nichol, Nicholl, Nagel, Nagle, Naugle.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.