Girls' name · peaked in 1983
Nicole name popularity since 1925
596,465 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Nicole. Half of them were born in 1986 or earlier, so the typical Nicole is about 40 years old in 2026. Nicole peaked in 1983 as the #7 name for girls, and it ranked #383 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 596,465
- Named Nicole, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #383
- for girls in 2025 (803 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 594,500 girls · 1,965 boys
- Most popular in
- New Jersey
- 1.73× its national share
Peak year is the year Nicole made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Nicole births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1985. Measured as a share of all babies, Nicole peaked in 1983.
- Fastest rise: Between 1965 and 1970, Nicole became 12× more common, from 1 in 1,970 baby girls to 1 in 164.
- Steepest fall: Between 2013 and 2018, its share of baby girls fell by 56%, from 1 in 523 to 1 in 1,190.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Nicole's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Nicole.
Decade by decade
Babies named Nicole in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 28 | 0 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 616 | 0 | #992 |
| 1950s | 1,314 | 0 | #894 |
| 1960s | 18,564 | 79 | #298 |
| 1970s | 144,667 | 637 | #10 |
| 1980s | 210,494 | 822 | #7 |
| 1990s | 136,103 | 280 | #19 |
| 2000s | 54,585 | 129 | #56 |
| 2010s | 22,306 | 18 | #154 |
| 2020–25 | 5,823 | 0 | #383 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 girls got the name.
Generation fingerprint
49.9% of babies named Nicole from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Nicole is most popular
The index compares Nicole's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Nicole.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 1.73× | 28,623 |
| New Hampshire | 1.63× | 3,079 |
| Connecticut | 1.58× | 10,300 |
| Rhode Island | 1.58× | 3,359 |
| Hawaii | 1.53× | 2,871 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Nicole and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Nicole (this page) | 594,500 | 1983 |
| Nichole | 63,770 | 1979 |
| Nikole | 6,982 | 1972 |
| Nicolle | 6,077 | 1972 |
| Niccole | 1,352 | 1972 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Nicole's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Nicole.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Nicole (1983).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data