Girls' name · peaked in 1972
Nikki name popularity since 1925
41,005 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Nikki (97.8% girls, 2.2% boys). Half of them were born in 1982 or earlier, so the typical Nikki is about 44 years old in 2026. Nikki peaked in 1972 as the #173 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 41,005
- Named Nikki, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #3,504 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 97.8% girls
- 40,109 girls · 896 boys
- Most popular in
- Oklahoma
- 1.78× its national share
Peak year is the year Nikki 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.
Nikki births per year, 1925–2025
1972 was the biggest year for Nikki both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1967 and 1972, Nikki became 4.4× more common, from 1 in 3,950 baby girls to 1 in 893.
- Steepest fall: Between 1996 and 2001, its share of baby girls fell by 53%, from 1 in 2,540 to 1 in 5,340.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Nikki's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Nikki.
Decade by decade
Babies named Nikki 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 | 35 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 90 | 0 | #3,093 |
| 1940s | 1,617 | 17 | #622 |
| 1950s | 2,179 | 27 | #670 |
| 1960s | 3,115 | 79 | #644 |
| 1970s | 10,876 | 219 | #222 |
| 1980s | 10,402 | 241 | #218 |
| 1990s | 7,438 | 225 | #381 |
| 2000s | 2,823 | 57 | #969 |
| 2010s | 1,199 | 26 | #1,604 |
| 2020–25 | 335 | 5 | #3,504 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
38.3% of babies named Nikki from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Nikki is most popular
The index compares Nikki'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 Nikki.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 1.78× | 853 |
| Indiana | 1.47× | 1,285 |
| Washington | 1.45× | 895 |
| Arkansas | 1.39× | 526 |
| Utah | 1.36× | 428 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Nikki 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nikki (this page) | 40,109 | 1972 |
| Niki | 7,048 | 1972 |
| Nicki | 6,077 | 1972 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Nikki's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Nikki.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Nikki (1972).
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