| Nicholas | Alexander | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Victory of the people | Defender of men |
| Origin | Greek | greek |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | NIK-uh-lus | al-ig-ZAN-der |
| Syllables | 3 | 4 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1995 (29,160) | 1993 (20,530) |
| In 2025 | 3,115 | 7,230 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Nicholas | Alexander |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 20,988 | 51,145 |
| 2010s | 66,811 | 142,161 |
| 2000s | 177,609 | 178,847 |
| 1990s | 275,329 | 183,952 |
| 1980s | 223,308 | 82,010 |
| 1970s | 65,068 | 24,932 |
| 1960s | 22,339 | 14,168 |
| 1950s | 22,614 | 12,180 |
| 1940s | 15,503 | 9,477 |
| 1930s | 9,716 | 7,095 |
| 1920s | 13,608 | 12,539 |
| 1910s | 10,233 | 11,352 |
| 1900s | 1,334 | 2,230 |
| 1890s | 857 | 1,954 |
| 1880s | 730 | 2,081 |
Nicholas comes from the Greek for “victory of the people.” St Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop famed for secret gift-giving, became the model for Santa Claus.
From Greek 'alexein' (to defend, protect) and 'aner/andros' (man), so 'defender/protector of men'. Note this is strictly 'defender' rather than 'warrior', though its martial fame comes from Alexander the Great.
Alexander is more popular than Nicholas today: about 7,230 US babies were given the name Alexander in 2025, compared with 3,115 named Nicholas.
Nicholas means Victory of the people (Greek origin), while Alexander means Defender of men (greek origin).
In US records, Nicholas first appears in 1880 and Alexander in 1880, so Nicholas has the longer recorded history.