Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Nicola?
Births per year, rank history and how many Nicolas are alive today.
Nicola (female), once a common girls' name, is now rarely given to new babies in England and Wales: just 5 in 2025, ranked 4201st. This spelling of the name peaked in 1974, when around 10,600 babies were given the name, the 3rd most popular that year. It has declined since 1974; the 2025 figure is roughly 1% of its peak. At least 180,000 babies have been named Nicola in England and Wales since 1954. Figures before 1996 are estimates. Nicola is one spelling of a name also recorded as Nikola; the combined figures below cover every spelling. Common short forms of Nicola include Nikki.
Across all spellings of the name, the Nicola you are most likely to meet is around 52 years old. Half of all Nicolas born in England and Wales are between 44 and 55, and there are at least 180,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 females, there's roughly a 44% chance that at least one of them will be called Nicola.
How many babies are named Nicola each year?
Includes all spellings: Nicola, Nikola. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does the Nicola spelling rank?
Where does the Nikola spelling rank?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Nicola most popular?
Nicola peaked in 1974, when around 10,600 babies in England and Wales were given the name across all spellings.
How many people are called Nicola?
At least 180,000 people named Nicola in any spelling born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Nicola?
Most living Nicolas are between 44 and 55; the most common age is about 52.
Is Nicola becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1974 peak.