Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 1986

Nikita

Meaning conqueror Gender Unisex · 79% girls Rank 2025 #4,524 Trend ↓ Falling 24%

From the Russian Ники́та (Nikíta), a male given name, from Ancient Greek Νικήτας (Nikḗtas, “conqueror”) also a male given name (and name of various saints).

Rank 2025
#4,524
among girls · ↓73 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
56
named Nikita · -15% vs 2024
How common
1 in 51,847
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1986
1,066 babies
All-time total
13,668
#1,587 all-time among girls
First recorded
1949
in Social Security records

Nikita popularity over time

13,668 babies have been named Nikita since 1949, 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
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – – – – – –
1940s 5 – 5 1 – #5,811
1950s 83 19 102 10 +1940% #1,664
1960s 318 169 487 49 +377% #1,478
1970s 1,447 122 1,569 157 +222% #797
1980s 3,343 203 3,546 355 +126% #250
1990s 2,952 372 3,324 332 -6% #583
2000s 1,507 850 2,357 236 -29% #884
2010s 886 842 1,728 173 -27% #1,576
2020s (to 2025) 237 313 550 92 -47% #3,199

Where Nikita 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 29 0.02 outside top 500
2027 28 0.02 outside top 500
2028 27 0.02 outside top 500
2029 26 0.02 outside top 500
2030 25 0.02 outside top 500

Where Nikita is most popular

Girls named Nikita per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.024 per 1,000.

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 Nikita 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
California 24 0.029 +21%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
New York – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Texas – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
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 Nikita

Nikita is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #4,524 in 2025 with 31 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1949, 13,668 American babies have been named Nikita, about 79% girls and 21% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1986, when 1,066 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 Nikita stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Nikita?

The median living Nikita is about 32 years old; half are between 21 and 39. An estimated 13 thousand people named Nikita are alive in the United States today.

median 32 020406080100

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

Nikita 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 31 #4,524 25 #4,217
2024 32 #4,451 34 #3,439
2023 42 #3,696 59 #2,357
2022 35 #4,179 54 #2,548
2021 51 #3,199 77 #1,951
2020 46 #3,376 64 #2,181
2019 44 #3,539 66 #2,164
2018 55 #2,994 79 #1,896
2017 60 #2,829 69 #2,045
2016 72 #2,514 94 #1,682
2015 93 #2,100 92 #1,701
2014 79 #2,342 101 #1,572
2013 108 #1,873 75 #1,892
2012 112 #1,819 84 #1,782
2011 139 #1,576 79 #1,820
2010 124 #1,701 103 #1,556
2009 84 #2,333 116 #1,450
2008 106 #1,989 117 #1,429
2007 108 #1,920 88 #1,717
2006 122 #1,719 95 #1,558
2005 115 #1,728 74 #1,784
2004 149 #1,402 88 #1,527
2003 153 #1,338 79 #1,606
2002 206 #1,047 76 #1,604
2001 214 #1,008 59 #1,886
2000 250 #884 58 #1,842
1995 190 #989 38 #2,162
1990 337 #661 38 #2,005
1985 162 #961 29 #2,001
1980 143 #1,018 9 #4,394
1975 166 #821 13 #3,028
1970 60 #1,593 14 #2,596
1965 24 #2,518 18 #1,896
1960 56 #1,478 25 #1,652
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Nikita

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

  1. 1 Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Khrushchev Leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 1894–1971 · 19th century
  2. 2 Nikita Kucherov Nikita Kucherov Russian ice hockey player (born 1993) Contemporary
  3. 3 Nikita Mikhalkov Nikita Mikhalkov Russian filmmaker and actor (born 1945) Contemporary
  4. 4 Nikita Katsalapov Nikita Katsalapov Russian ice dancer (born 1991) Contemporary
  5. 5 Nikita Simonyan Nikita Simonyan Russian football player and coach (1926–2025) Contemporary
  6. 6 Nikita Gusev Nikita Gusev Russian ice hockey player (born 1992) Contemporary
  7. 7 Nikita Filatov Nikita Filatov Russian ice hockey player (born 1990) Contemporary
  8. 8 Nikita Vitiugov Nikita Vitiugov Russian-English chess grandmaster (born 1987) Contemporary
  9. 9 Nikita Kurbanov Nikita Kurbanov Russian basketball player b. 1986 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Nikita Rukavytsya Nikita Rukavytsya Australian soccer player b. 1987 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Nikita Kryukov Nikita Kryukov Russian cross-country skier b. 1985 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Nikita Ivanovich Panin Nikita Ivanovich Panin Russian statesman (1718–1783) 18th century
  13. 13 Nikita Lobintsev Russian swimmer b. 1988 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Nikita?

The median living Nikita is about 32 years old. Half of all living Nikitas are between 21 and 39 years old.

How many people named Nikita are alive today?

An estimated 13 thousand people named Nikita are alive in the United States, based on 13,668 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Nikita mean?

From the Russian Ники́та (Nikíta), a male given name, from Ancient Greek Νικήτας (Nikḗtas, “conqueror”) also a male given name (and name of various saints).

How popular is the name Nikita in 2025?

Nikita ranked #4,524 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 31 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Nikita?

13,668 babies have been named Nikita in the United States since 1949, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Nikita most popular?

Nikita peaked in 1986, when 1,066 newborns received the name.

Is Nikita a boy or girl name?

Nikita is used for both: about 79% of babies named Nikita have been girls and 21% boys.

Is the name Nikita rising or falling?

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

Will Nikita become more popular?

Nikita is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 25 girls named Nikita in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Nikita?

Well-known people named Nikita include Nikita Khrushchev (politician), Nikita Kucherov (hockey player), Nikita Mikhalkov (film director).

Names like Nikita

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

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