boy's name
Nick
NIK
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 52,519
Ireland
#528
2025 births
Nick means victory of the people, and the compound is political rather than personal — the Greek joins victory to the citizen body, so it describes a public triumph and not an individual one.
- Nick is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1960, when 1,098 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 26,737 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Nick over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 394 |
| 1890s | 346 |
| 1900s | 588 |
| 1910s | 4,699 |
| 1920s | 6,881 |
| 1930s | 4,685 |
| 1940s | 5,120 |
| 1950s | 5,695 |
| 1960s | 8,021 |
| 1970s | 4,922 |
| 1980s | 2,733 |
| 1990s | 1,989 |
| 2000s | 2,171 |
| 2010s | 1,556 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 789 |
What Nick means
Nick means victory of the people, carried from Nicholas. Both halves of the Greek compound concern a collective, so the name describes a shared outcome rather than a personal quality.
Where Nick comes from
Nick shortens Nicholas, from the Greek Nikolaos — nike, victory, joined to laos, the people, meaning the citizen body as distinct from its rulers. Nike was a goddess before she was an abstraction. Saint Nicholas of Myra, the fourth-century bishop known for secret gift-giving, became Sinterklaas in Dutch and Santa Claus in American English, so the name reaches modern life twice by very different routes.
Nick in use
Nick peaked in the United States in 1960, when 1,098 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 528th in Ireland on 6 births, 1444th in the United States on 124 and 1812th in England and Wales on 14, across 52,519 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Ireland set its own peak in the most recent year we hold.
How popular is Nick?
In 2025, Nick was given to 124 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Nick is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Nick
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Nick also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Nick over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Nick in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Nick
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Nick — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Nick
What does the name Nick mean?
Victory of the people — the Greek nike joined to laos.
Is Santa Claus related?
Yes — Saint Nicholas became Sinterklaas in Dutch and then Santa Claus.
What does laos mean?
The citizen body, as distinct from its rulers.
How popular is Nick?
1444th in the United States, and stable rather than falling in our data.
Is Nick a girl's or a boy's name?
Nick is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Nick?
Nick has 1 syllable.
Is Nick a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Nick currently ranks #528 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.