| Nicolás | Javier | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | victory of the people | New house |
| Origin | spanish | Spanish |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | nee-ko-LAHS | hah-vee-AIR |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1882 | 1917 |
| Peak year | 2003 (3,003) | 2001 (2,637) |
| In 2025 | 2,053 | 1,252 |
| Trend | Steady | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Nicolás | Javier |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 11,843 | 8,461 |
| 2010s | 21,216 | 17,204 |
| 2000s | 28,267 | 24,637 |
| 1990s | 21,219 | 22,115 |
| 1980s | 10,268 | 14,482 |
| 1970s | 3,870 | 10,452 |
| 1960s | 1,388 | 6,423 |
| 1950s | 1,041 | 2,899 |
| 1940s | 694 | 809 |
| 1930s | 567 | 321 |
| 1920s | 749 | 155 |
| 1910s | 367 | 11 |
| 1900s | 51 | 0 |
| 1890s | 19 | 0 |
| 1880s | 26 | 0 |
The Spanish form of Nicholas, from the Greek Nikolaos, combining nike 'victory' and laos 'people'. Popularized by Saint Nicholas of Myra, the 4th-century bishop who became the basis for Santa Claus.
Javier comes from the Basque Etxeberria, “new house,” via Saint Francis Xavier.
Nicolás is more popular than Javier today: about 2,053 US babies were given the name Nicolás in 2025, compared with 1,252 named Javier.
Nicolás means victory of the people (spanish origin), while Javier means New house (Spanish origin).
In US records, Nicolás first appears in 1882 and Javier in 1917, so Nicolás has the longer recorded history.