“Nick” Names

Most Americans associate Santa and gift-giving with a single Christmas date, December 25th. Very few know about a certain tradition on December 5th of leaving out shoes for St. Nicholas to fill with gifts on December 6th (I only know about it because I studied German in high school…that was a fun lesson!). Whether jolly old St. Nick brings your gifts on Christmas Day, St. Nicholas Day / Nikolaustag, or somewhere in-between, here’s a list of baby names related to Nicholas and other Nicks for inspiration this Holiday Season! All of these were used in 2021 and are listed by popularity, according to the Social Security Administration. I’ve also grouped spellings by pronunciation with the most popular version at the top.

The Major Nick Families

Nicholas – 6508 baby boys in total were named Nicholas or some spelling variation in 2021. It’s one of the most timeless names in the lexicon and has been out of the U.S. Top 200 only once!

• Nicholas – 3824 boys were given this spelling. U.S. Rank: #92.
• Nicolas – 1996 boys. Rank: #188
• Nickolas – 168 boys
• Nikolas – 472 boys
• Niklas – 20 boys
• Nikoloz – 10 boys
• Nicklas – 8 boys
• Nikkolas – 5 boys
• Nykolas – 5 boys

Nico – 2876 boys and 62 girls for an overall total of 2938 babies named Nico or a variant.

• Nico – 1351 boys, 35 girls. Rank: #259 for boys
• Niko – 1158 boys, 19 girls. Rank: #291 for boys
• Nikko – 213 boys
• Neko – 55 boys, 8 girls
• Nicco – 48 boys
• Nyko – 24 boys
• Nieko – 17 boys
• Nicho – 5 boys
• Nykko – 5 boys

Nicole – 1094 girls total.

• Nicole – 949 girls. Rank: #340
• Nichole – 62 girls
• Nicolle – 40 girls
• Nicol – 19 girls
• Nikole – 14 girls
• Nickole – 5 girls
• Nikol – 5 girls

Nikolai – 824 boys total.

• Nikolai – 617 boys. Rank: #480
• Nicolai – 50 boys
• Nikoli – 20 boys
• Nikolay – 16 boys
• Nicholai – 15 boys
• Nickolai – 12 boys
• Nicolae – 10 boys
• Nicoli – 9 boys
• Nikolaj – 9 boys
• Nikkolai – 7 boys
• Nicholi – 5 boys

Nixon – 405 boys and 23 girls for an overall total of 428 children. Nixon means “Nick’s son.”

• Nixon – 377 boys, 17 girls. Rank: #695 for boys.
• Nixxon – 12 boys
• Nickson – 8 boys. Taking the spelling more literally?
• Nyxon – 8 boys
• Nixyn – 6 girls

Niklaus – 385 boys total. Rank: #839.

• Niklaus – 280 boys
• Nikolaos – 55 boys
• Nikolaus – 33 boys
• Nicklaus – 17 boys

Nicolette – 152 girls total.

• Nicolette – 141 girls
• Nicholette – 6 girls
• Nikolette – 5 girls

Nikola – 180 boys and 21 girls, totaling 201 babies.

• Nikola – 145 boys, 12 girls
• Nicola – 35 boys, 9 girl

Nick – 131 boys; this is the only spelling I could find.

Nikki – 88 girls, 20 boys for a combined total of 108 babies

• Nikki – 66 girls
• Nicky – 20 boys, 6 girls
• Niki – 16 girls

Niccolo – 96 boys total.

• Niccolo – 51 boys
• Nicolo – 40 boys
• Nikolo – 5 boys

Nika – 66 girls

Nicolina – 38 girls total

• Nicolina – 23 girls
• Nikolina – 15 girls

Nicoletta – 35 girls total

• Nicoletta – 22 girls
• Nikoletta – 8 girls
• Nikoleta – 5 girls

Nikos – 20 boys. Behind the Name says this is a Greek nickname for Nikolaos.

Other relatives of Nicholas without the “Nic”:

Colin – Total of 2098 boys and 36 girls (Combined 2134). One of Colin‘s origins is as a medieval nickname for Nicholas.

• Colin – 1282 boys, 5 girls. Rank: #269.
• Collin – 726 boys, 10 girls. Rank: #421
• Kollin – 38 boys
• Kolin – 25 boys
• Collen – 9 boys
• Collyn – 8 boys, 7 girls
• Colyn – 5 boys
• Kollyn – 14 girls, 5 boys

Collins – Total of 1348 girls and 47 boys (combined 1395). If you like last names as baby names and want to honor a Nicholas, this relative of Colin is a good alternative to Nixon. 

• Collins – 998 girls, 47 boys. Rank: #326.
• Kollyns – 163 girls
• Kollins – 104 girls
• Collyns – 78 girls
• Kolynns – 5 girls

Colette – 767 girls total. Colette is a nickname for Nicolette.

• Colette – 684 girls. Rank: #454
• Collette – 69 girls
• Kolette – 14 girls

Kai – Total of 4684 boys and 392 girls (combined total: 5052 babies named Kai in 2021). Kai can sometimes be a German or Scandinavian nickname for Nicholas’s counterparts in those languages.

• Kai – 4599 boys, 368 girls. Ranks #71 for boys and #770 for girls.
• Cai – 85 boys, 24 girls

Klaus – 76 boys. The old-school German version of Nick.

I also found a bunch of mostly unrelated names that share that “Nick” sound. A lot of them can use Nick or Nikki as a, well, nickname!

Miscellaneous:

• Nikita – 75 boys, 51 girls (126 total)
• Nyx – 61 girls, 8 boys (69 total)
• Nikhil – 67 boys
• Nicodemus – 39 boys
• Nixie – 18 girls. Is this the next Nikki?
• Nike – 10 boys, 7 girls (total). Besides being a shoe brand, Nike was the Greek goddess of victory and provides the root for the first half of Nicholas.
• Nicha – 9 girls
• Nichelle – 9 girls
• Nikayla – 9 girls
• Nicanor – 8 boys
• Nicandro – 8 boys
• Nikai – 8 boys
• Nikan – 8 boys
• Nikodem – 8 boys
• Nekoda – 8 boys
• Nikash – 7 boys
• Nix – 7 boys
• Nicasio – 6 boys
• Nicodemo – 6 boys
• Nikiya – 6 girls
• Nyxie – 6 girls
• Nektarios – 5 boys
• Nykeem – 5 boys

Do you have any favorites from this list? Let me know!