girls' name ★ peaked 1985

Nicole

Meaning Nicholas Gender Girl Rank 2025 #383 Trend ↓ Falling 29%

Borrowed from French Nicole, the feminine form of Nicolas (“Nicholas”).

Rank 2025
#383
among girls · ↓64 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
803
named Nicole · -17% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,002
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1985
23,043 babies
All-time total
596,465
#46 all-time among girls
First recorded
1937
in Social Security records

Nicole popularity over time

596,465 babies have been named Nicole since 1937, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
3.757.511.251518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s 28 – 28 3 – #2,540
1940s 616 – 616 62 +2100% #827
1950s 1,314 – 1,314 131 +113% #700
1960s 18,564 79 18,643 1,864 +1319% #47
1970s 144,667 637 145,304 14,530 +679% #9
1980s 210,494 822 211,316 21,132 +45% #6
1990s 136,103 280 136,383 13,638 -35% #11
2000s 54,585 129 54,714 5,471 -60% #31
2010s 22,306 18 22,324 2,232 -59% #91
2020s (to 2025) 5,823 – 5,823 971 -57% #266

Where Nicole is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 757 0.47 #411
2027 721 0.45 #430
2028 691 0.43 #449
2029 667 0.41 #463
2030 647 0.40 #474

Where Nicole is most popular

Girls named Nicole per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.574 per 1,000. Strongest in Florida, Nevada, and Illinois.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Nicole born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Florida 560 1.31 +128%
Nevada 51 1.10 +91%
Illinois 237 1.04 +80%
California 825 0.981 +71%
Arizona 122 0.869 +51%
Connecticut 48 0.825 +44%
Utah 67 0.805 +40%
New York 314 0.793 +38%
Texas 628 0.781 +36%
Colorado 87 0.779 +36%
Washington 112 0.775 +35%
New Jersey 132 0.731 +27%
Massachusetts 85 0.703 +22%
South Carolina 61 0.679 +18%
New Mexico 16 0.658 +15%
Virginia 103 0.604 +5%
Oregon 39 0.599 ≈ national
Maryland 62 0.585 ≈ national
Oklahoma 42 0.571 ≈ national
North Carolina 126 0.553 ≈ national
Georgia 122 0.537 -7%
Pennsylvania 124 0.524 -9%
Nebraska 16 0.445 -23%
Hawaii 5 0.436 -24%
Tennessee 69 0.436 -24%
District of Columbia 5 0.422 -27%
Ohio 91 0.384 -33%
Kansas 22 0.381 -34%
Indiana 53 0.378 -34%
Michigan 61 0.335 -42%
Idaho 11 0.329 -43%
Arkansas 17 0.322 -44%
Minnesota 32 0.297 -48%
Missouri 34 0.282 -51%
Wisconsin 29 0.282 -51%
Kentucky 24 0.281 -51%
Iowa 16 0.274 -52%
Alabama 21 0.224 -61%
Louisiana 19 0.217 -62%
Alaska – – –
Delaware – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Nicole

Nicole is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #383 in 2025 with 803 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1937, 596,465 American babies have been named Nicole. Its peak came in 1985, when 23,043 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Nicole stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Nicole?

The median living Nicole is about 39 years old; half are between 31 and 46. An estimated 580 thousand people named Nicole are alive in the United States today.

median 39 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Nicole year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 803 #383 – –
2024 964 #319 – –
2023 942 #326 – –
2022 996 #323 – –
2021 955 #341 – –
2020 1,163 #266 – –
2019 1,365 #229 5 #13,553
2018 1,429 #217 – –
2017 1,664 #184 – –
2016 1,954 #162 – –
2015 2,116 #154 – –
2014 2,540 #128 – –
2013 3,352 #91 8 #9,408
2012 2,661 #114 – –
2011 2,655 #117 5 #13,749
2010 2,570 #123 – –
2009 2,770 #119 7 #10,652
2008 3,291 #106 5 #14,016
2007 3,873 #86 10 #8,002
2006 4,322 #74 13 #6,359
2005 4,993 #56 12 #6,510
2004 5,741 #43 17 #4,946
2003 6,238 #40 13 #5,784
2002 6,974 #37 17 #4,648
2001 7,820 #36 14 #5,323
2000 8,563 #31 21 #3,875
1995 12,277 #19 22 #3,161
1990 17,954 #13 42 #1,863
1985 22,966 #7 77 #1,053
1980 19,917 #7 86 #972
1975 14,275 #10 63 #1,049
1970 10,691 #30 51 #1,162
1965 898 #298 9 #2,926
1960 243 #648 – –
1955 120 #894 – –
1950 89 #955 – –
1945 61 #992 – –
1940 25 #1,578 – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Nicole

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Nicole Kidman Nicole Kidman Australian and American actress (born 1967) Contemporary
  2. 2 Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger American singer (born 1978) Contemporary
  3. 3 Nicole Richie Nicole Richie American media personality (born 1981) Contemporary
  4. 4 Nicole Brown Simpson Nicole Brown Simpson German-American murder victim (1959–1994) Contemporary
  5. 5 Nicole Ari Parker Nicole Ari Parker American actress (born 1970) Contemporary
  6. 6 Nicole Sullivan Nicole Sullivan American actress and comedian (born 1970) Contemporary
  7. 7 Nicole Eggert Nicole Eggert American actress (born 1972) Contemporary
  8. 8 Nicole Beharie Nicole Beharie American actress and singer b. 1985 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Nicole Aniston Nicole Aniston American actress and model (born 1987) Contemporary
  10. 10 Nicole de Boer Nicole de Boer Canadian actress (born 1970) Contemporary
  11. 11 Nicole Parker Nicole Parker American actress and comedian b. 1978 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Nicole Fiorentino Nicole Fiorentino American bass guitarist b. 1979 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Nicole Gale Anderson Nicole Gale Anderson American actress (born 1990) Contemporary
  14. 14 Nicole Krauss Nicole Krauss American novelist (born 1974) Contemporary
  15. 15 Nicole Jung Nicole Jung American singer (born 1991) Contemporary
  16. 16 Nicole Oresme Nicole Oresme French philosopher (1325–1382) 1323–1382 · Medieval
  17. 17 Nicole Stott Nicole Stott American engineer and former astronaut (born 1962) Contemporary
  18. 18 Nicole Garcia Nicole Garcia French actress, film director, and screenwriter (born 1946) Contemporary
  19. 19 Nicole Vaidišová Nicole Vaidišová Czech tennis player (born 1989) Contemporary
  20. 20 Nicole Courcel Nicole Courcel French actress 1931–2016 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Nicole, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Nicole?

The median living Nicole is about 39 years old. Half of all living Nicoles are between 31 and 46 years old.

How many people named Nicole are alive today?

An estimated 580 thousand people named Nicole are alive in the United States, based on 596,465 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Nicole mean?

Borrowed from French Nicole, the feminine form of Nicolas (“Nicholas”).

How popular is the name Nicole in 2025?

Nicole ranked #383 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 803 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Nicole?

596,465 babies have been named Nicole in the United States since 1937, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Nicole most popular?

Nicole peaked in 1985, when 23,043 newborns received the name.

Is Nicole a boy or girl name?

Nicole is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Nicole rising or falling?

Nicole is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Nicole become more popular?

Nicole is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 647 girls named Nicole in 2030, which would rank around #474. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Nicole?

Well-known people named Nicole include Nicole Kidman (actor), Nicole Scherzinger (singer), Nicole Richie (celebrity).

Names like Nicole

Names that sound and feel close to Nicole: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Nicole with similar names → More names starting with N →