Given name & surname
Nikolai
“of the victorious people”
Nikolai is a form of Nicholas. One Greek interpretation is “of the victorious people.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Nikolai is a form of Nicholas. One Greek interpretation is “of the victorious people.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Nikolai is a form of Nicholas. An origin associated with Nicholas is Dutch.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Russian use, Nikolai is used as a form of Nicholas.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1960. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Nikolai is a form 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
Nikolai through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 11,027
- 11,027 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 639 babies
- 2025
- 469
- #605 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −13%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 469 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 605 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 12.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 639 in 2016. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (66). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 8,218 as a first name in 2020; 702 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.
Nikolai’s family of names
Nikolai has an affectionate form in Kolya. In Finnish usage, Nikolai shares a linguistic root with the English form Nicholas. In Danish usage, Nikolai has a conventional equivalent in the Italian form Nicola.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Nikolai has relatives in 10 languages.
19 related names in 10 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 16
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 5
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Nikolai
- Nikolai LobachevskyRussian mathematician (1792–1856)
- Nikolai Rimsky-KorsakovRussian composer (1844–1908)
- Nikolai NoskovSoviet and Russian singer and song writerborn 1956
- Nikolai BukharinRussian revolutionary and politician (1888–1938)
- Nikolai OstrovskyUkrainian-Russian writer (1904-1936)
- Nikolai VavilovRussian (Soviet) agronomist, botanist and geneticist (1887-1943)
- Nikolai LeskovRussian writer (1831–1895)
- Nikolai YezhovNKVD director under Joseph Stalin (1895-1940)
- Nikolai BulganinSoviet politician (1895–1975)
Characters named Nikolai: Nikolai Rostov (War and Peace).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Nikolai, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Nico
“of the victorious people”
97% boys · 3% girls
Nikkos
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Iker
“a visitor”
>99% boys
Nekoda
85% boys · 15% girls
Neithan
>99% boys
Malakai
“a messenger of God”
>99% boys
Nikshay
>99% boys
Maison
“a stoneworker” · “one who works with stone”
90% boys · 10% girls