boys' name ★ peaked 2022

Niko

Gender Boy · 3% girls Rank 2025 #325 Trend ↑ Rising 48%

A diminutive of the male given names Nikola, Nikolas, and Nikolaos, from Greek.

Rank 2025
#325
among boys · ↑19 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,065
named Niko · +4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,633
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2022
1,212 babies
All-time total
15,135
#985 all-time among boys
First recorded
1962
in Social Security records

Niko popularity over time

15,135 babies have been named Niko since 1962, 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
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 – – – – – –
1950s – – – – – –
1960s 24 21 45 5 – #3,999
1970s 125 86 211 21 +369% #2,473
1980s 21 313 334 33 +58% #847
1990s 38 1,510 1,548 155 +363% #776
2000s 75 1,922 1,997 200 +29% #814
2010s 119 4,455 4,574 457 +129% #416
2020s (to 2025) 104 6,322 6,426 1,071 +134% #287

Where Niko is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 1,125 0.66 #303
2027 1,197 0.70 #284
2028 1,262 0.74 #271
2029 1,320 0.77 #262
2030 1,372 0.80 #254

Where Niko is most popular

Boys named Niko per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.631 per 1,000. Strongest in New Mexico, Hawaii, and Nevada.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Niko 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Mexico 64 1.94 +208%
Hawaii 26 1.67 +165%
Nevada 79 1.39 +120%
Oregon 91 1.20 +90%
Colorado 147 1.14 +80%
Connecticut 70 1.03 +64%
California 887 0.970 +54%
Idaho 37 0.904 +43%
Washington 145 0.886 +40%
Maine 17 0.876 +39%
Ohio 228 0.860 +36%
Delaware 13 0.857 +36%
Massachusetts 117 0.851 +35%
Pennsylvania 223 0.840 +33%
Montana 14 0.794 +26%
New Jersey 157 0.780 +24%
Utah 74 0.775 +23%
Minnesota 95 0.774 +23%
Kansas 52 0.758 +20%
Arizona 124 0.758 +20%
Michigan 153 0.747 +18%
Wisconsin 87 0.734 +16%
North Carolina 186 0.728 +15%
Florida 343 0.724 +15%
New York 311 0.718 +14%
Illinois 178 0.696 +10%
Maryland 79 0.662 +5%
Iowa 45 0.653 ≈ national
Indiana 99 0.617 ≈ national
Louisiana 61 0.596 -6%
Alaska 7 0.588 -7%
South Carolina 59 0.571 -10%
Texas 498 0.565 -10%
Virginia 102 0.538 -15%
Kentucky 53 0.528 -16%
West Virginia 17 0.521 -18%
Georgia 131 0.517 -18%
Missouri 70 0.505 -20%
Oklahoma 40 0.452 -28%
Arkansas 28 0.442 -30%
Tennessee 73 0.404 -36%
Rhode Island 6 0.368 -42%
North Dakota 5 0.293 -54%
New Hampshire 5 0.225 -64%
Alabama 19 0.174 -72%
Nebraska 6 0.138 -78%
Mississippi 5 0.088 -86%
District of Columbia – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Niko

Niko is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #325 in 2025 with 1,046 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1962, 15,135 American babies have been named Niko. Its peak came in 2022, when 1,212 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Niko stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Niko?

The median living Niko is about 7 years old; half are between 3 and 17. An estimated 15 thousand people named Niko are alive in the United States today.

median 7 020406080100

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

Niko 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 19 #6,269 1,046 #325
2024 17 #6,857 1,004 #344
2023 14 #7,944 1,037 #320
2022 20 #6,154 1,192 #287
2021 19 #6,346 1,173 #290
2020 15 #7,474 870 #358
2019 13 #8,480 743 #416
2018 7 #13,435 549 #518
2017 16 #7,339 507 #549
2016 13 #8,741 439 #613
2015 11 #9,968 425 #629
2014 11 #9,989 432 #618
2013 12 #9,462 433 #587
2012 14 #8,516 346 #688
2011 12 #9,572 303 #749
2010 10 #11,033 278 #789
2009 14 #8,769 273 #814
2008 15 #8,431 264 #831
2007 8 #13,582 217 #915
2006 9 #12,155 190 #978
2005 7 #14,104 162 #1,038
2004 – – 175 #961
2003 9 #11,081 177 #930
2002 6 #14,910 158 #995
2001 – – 166 #938
2000 7 #12,775 140 #1,038
1995 8 #10,235 166 #836
1990 – – 171 #776
1985 – – 13 #3,541
1980 – – 6 #6,021
1975 12 #5,065 6 #5,265
1970 16 #3,824 9 #3,448
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Niko

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

  1. 1 Niko Kovač Niko Kovač Croatian football manager (born 1971) Contemporary
  2. 2 Niko Kranjčar Niko Kranjčar Croatian footballer (born 1984) Contemporary
  3. 3 Niko Pirosmani Niko Pirosmani Georgian painter (1862–1918) 19th century
  4. 4 Niko Kapanen Niko Kapanen Finnish ice hockey player (born 1978) Contemporary
  5. 5 Niko Eeckhout Niko Eeckhout Belgian cyclist (born 1970) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Niko?

The median living Niko is about 7 years old. Half of all living Nikos are between 3 and 17 years old.

How many people named Niko are alive today?

An estimated 15 thousand people named Niko are alive in the United States, based on 15,135 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Niko mean?

A diminutive of the male given names Nikola, Nikolas, and Nikolaos, from Greek.

How popular is the name Niko in 2025?

Niko ranked #325 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,046 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Niko?

15,135 babies have been named Niko in the United States since 1962, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Niko most popular?

Niko peaked in 2022, when 1,212 newborns received the name.

Is Niko a boy or girl name?

Niko is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 97% of babies with the name.

Is the name Niko rising or falling?

Niko is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Niko become more popular?

Niko is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,372 boys named Niko in 2030, which would rank around #254. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Niko?

Well-known people named Niko include Niko Kovač (soccer player), Niko Kranjčar (soccer player), Niko Pirosmani (painter).

Names like Niko

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

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