Nikolai
Nikolai is a name with multiple cultural origins: Russian, Bulgarian.
- Russian
- Bulgarian
Meaning & Origin of Nikolai
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Nikolai is a name with multiple cultural origins: Russian, Bulgarian.
Origin data from Behind the Name .
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Russian
- Bulgarian
The Story of Nikolai
Nikolai first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1960, with 6 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2016: 639 births, good for #480 nationwide. About 44% of every Nikolai on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Nikolai ranks #627 for baby boys with 455 births, falling sharply (-18%). All told, over 11K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1960s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Nikolai
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Nikolai. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Nikolai
Phonetically similar names — useful when Nikolai is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Nikolai
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About the name Nikolai
Nikolai is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1960 and has accumulated 11K births in the dataset. Nikolai's peak popularity came in 2016 when it ranked #473. Use the chart and map above to compare Nikolai's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2016 →
- Names of the 2010s →
- Names starting with "N" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.