How popular is the name Nicolai?

1,865 US babies were named Nicolai between 1940 and 2025. The name peaked in 2015.

What careers are people named Nicolai over-represented in?

Among notable men who are film directors, Nicolais show up 1.8× as often as you'd expect from how common the name is. This is a pattern among people who already have the name, not a prediction.

Name meaning & stats

Nicolai

Q: How common is the spelling Nicolai?

1 in 8 Nikolais spell it Nicolai.

Nicolai. 1,865 US babies since 1940, peak 2015. Notable Nicolais are 1.8× over-represented as film directors.

Play Nicolai's story Compare with a friend

What it means

No agreed meaning on record

In US birth records

Peak year: 2015

1,865 US babies were named Nicolai between 1940 and 2025.

Nicolai around the world

Norway: 3,079 babies since 1945, peak 2007, No. 165 in 2025
Sweden: 144 babies since 1998, peak 2019, No. 651 in 2022
England & Wales: 88 babies since 1996, peak 2019, No. 4,975 in 2025
France: 140 babies since 1900, peak 2023

From official birth registries. Sources are listed on About the data.

Where Nicolais end up

Career	vs expected	Confidence
Footballer	1.6×	High · 31 people
Actor	1.5×	Medium · 14 people
Film director	1.8×	Low · 9 people
Ice hockey player	1.6×	Low · 7 people

Among notable men who are film directors, Nicolais show up 1.8× as often as you'd expect from how common the name is.

Notable people of every nationality born 1940–2005 (Wikidata). Patterns, not destiny.

Other spellings

1 in 8 Nikolais spell it Nicolai

Nikolai 72%
Nicolai 12%
Nikoli 4%
Nickolai 3%
Nikolay 3%
Nicoli 3%
Nickoli 2%

Names that sound the same, grouped by Heyotag. Share of US babies since 1940.

Name twins (peaked around 2015)