| Nicholas | Andrew | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Victory of the people | Manly, brave |
| Origin | Greek | Greek |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | NIK-uh-lus | AN-droo |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1995 (29,160) | 1987 (36,206) |
| In 2025 | 3,115 | 4,497 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Nicholas | Andrew |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 20,988 | 30,959 |
| 2010s | 66,811 | 105,086 |
| 2000s | 177,609 | 202,588 |
| 1990s | 275,329 | 272,941 |
| 1980s | 223,308 | 285,074 |
| 1970s | 65,068 | 132,929 |
| 1960s | 22,339 | 97,109 |
| 1950s | 22,614 | 60,972 |
| 1940s | 15,503 | 34,618 |
| 1930s | 9,716 | 25,025 |
| 1920s | 13,608 | 35,952 |
| 1910s | 10,233 | 28,152 |
| 1900s | 1,334 | 6,277 |
| 1890s | 857 | 5,719 |
| 1880s | 730 | 6,053 |
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.
Andrew comes from the Greek Andreas, “manly, brave,” from anēr, “man.” Andrew was the first-called of the apostles and is the patron saint of Scotland.
Andrew is more popular than Nicholas today: about 4,497 US babies were given the name Andrew in 2025, compared with 3,115 named Nicholas.
Nicholas means Victory of the people (Greek origin), while Andrew means Manly, brave (Greek origin).
In US records, Nicholas first appears in 1880 and Andrew in 1880, so Nicholas has the longer recorded history.