Given name & surname · also Hebrew, Late Greek
Nicanor
“a conqueror”·“of the victorious army”
Nicanor is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “a conqueror” and “of the victorious army”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original GreekΝικανωρ
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “a conqueror” and “of the victorious army”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Hebrew and Spanish naming traditions.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1913. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Nicanor is a variant of Nicholas. The history of Nicholas gives this family its wider story. Nicholas’s Christian associations include Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop of Myra in Lycia, about whom virtually nothing factual is known.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Nicanor appears in Acts 6:5.
From biblical name research
Nicanor through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 787
- 787 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1982
- 20 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −17%
- Easing
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 20 in 1982. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,882 as a first name in 2020; 489 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Nicanor’s family of names
In Cebuano usage, Nicanor has a diminutive in KANOR. Nicanor has a related form in Nicholas. Nicanor has a related form in Nicanora.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Nicanor has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
3 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 9
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Andrewshares a root
- Nicolasshares a root
- Euniceshares a root
- Nicodemusshares a root
- Berniceshares a root
- Phoeniciashares a root
- Andronicusshares a root
- Thessalonicashares a root
Show 1 moreShow fewer
People named Nicanor
- Nicanor ParraChilean writer, poet, mathematician, and physicist (1914-2018)
- NicanorAntigonid Governor of Media400 BC–309 BC
- Nicanor ZabaletaSpanish-Basque harpist (1907–1993)
- Nicanor PerlasFilipino politician1950–2025
- Nicanor AbelardoFilipino composer (1893–1934)
- Patriarch Nicanor of AlexandriaGreek patriarch of Alexandria1800–1869
- Nicanor Costa MéndezArgentine Diplomat (1922-1992)
- Nicanor Vilalta i SerresSpanish matador and torero (1897-1980)
- Nico CuéSpanish trade union representative and politicianborn 1956
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Nicanor, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Spiridon
“one who transports goods; a basket”
>99% boys
Nicholaus
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Nickolaus
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Nichols
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Quentin
“the fifth-born child”
>99% boys
Nicko
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Philo
“one who loves and is loved”
>99% boys
Otmar
“treasure” · “famous”
>99% boys