Nikola
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Meaning
victory of the people (Slavic form); famously borne by Nikola Tesla, inventor of the AC induction motor and pioneer of alternating-current power
The story
Nikola is the Slavic form of Nicholas, from the Greek for victory of the people, an everyday name from Belgrade to Zagreb to Sofia for many centuries. One bearer towers over the rest: Nikola Tesla, the Serbian inventor who arrived in New York in 1884 and developed the alternating-current system and induction motor that still power the modern grid, then died half-forgotten in 1943 before history restored his fame. In American records Nikola surfaced quietly in the 1960s and has edged upward since the 2000s, decades that happen to coincide with Tesla's return to cultural glory; we cannot prove the connection, but the timing is hard to ignore. For now it remains an uncommon choice with a very famous echo, familiar everywhere yet belonging, in the United States, to almost no one.
Sources list Nikola among the forms of Nicholas (Basque · Bulgarian · Croatian · Czech · Macedonian · Serbian · Slovak · Slovene).
How popular is Nikola around the world?
In the United States, 807 babies were named Nikola between 2020 and 2025. In Poland, 623 girls named Nikola were born in 2025, the 49th most common name among girls that year.
Nikola is on the official records of the United States, Poland, Austria, Norway, South Australia, Canada, Ireland, Chile, England and Wales, France, Mexico City, Spain, Argentina and Brazil.
United States
1 in 27,000
In the United States, 807 babies were named Nikola between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Nikola peaked in the 2000s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Poland
1 in 400
In Poland, 623 girls named Nikola were born in 2025, the 49th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Austria
1 in 1,700
In Austria, 45 boys named Nikola were born in 2025, the 145th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Norway
1 in 7,100register 2026
In Norway, 4 boys were given the name Nikola in 2025.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
South Australia
1 in 9,2002017
In South Australia, 2 boys were registered as Nikola in 2017.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 13,000
In Canada, 29 boys named Nikola were born in 2024, the 886th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
1 in 18,000
In Ireland, 3 girls named Nikola were born in 2025, the 885th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Chile
1 in 20,000
In Chile, 9 boys were registered as Nikola in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
England and Wales
1 in 27,000
In England and Wales, 13 boys named Nikola were born in 2025, ranked 1,897th among boys that year.
In England and Wales, 9 girls named Nikola were born in 2025, ranked 2,788th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
France
1 in 43,000
In France, about 15 boys named Nikola were born in 2025, ranked 2,060th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Mexico City City
1 in 59,000
In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Nikola in 2022.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Spain
1 in 61,000
In Spain, 599 residents are named Nikola, ranked 2,023rd among men, with a mean age of 28.2 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Argentina
1 in 220,000
In Argentina, 3 newborns were given the name Nikola in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 236 people in Brazil were named Nikola, ranked 22,604th, with a median age of 5.
Among people named Nikola living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 88 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 2008
Nikola is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Scotland
last on record 2021
Nikola is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico and New Zealand: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
When you meet Nikola
Most people given the name Nikola in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Nikola deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Nikola truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Nikola fits with your family’s names and surname.
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