| Timothy | Nicholas | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Honoring God | Victory of the people |
| Origin | Greek | Greek |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | TIM-uh-thee | NIK-uh-lus |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1959 (30,783) | 1995 (29,160) |
| In 2025 | 1,734 | 3,115 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Timothy | Nicholas |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 10,984 | 20,988 |
| 2010s | 28,234 | 66,811 |
| 2000s | 52,470 | 177,609 |
| 1990s | 107,772 | 275,329 |
| 1980s | 172,835 | 223,308 |
| 1970s | 181,260 | 65,068 |
| 1960s | 276,837 | 22,339 |
| 1950s | 198,324 | 22,614 |
| 1940s | 43,503 | 15,503 |
| 1930s | 5,105 | 9,716 |
| 1920s | 2,960 | 13,608 |
| 1910s | 1,918 | 10,233 |
| 1900s | 647 | 1,334 |
| 1890s | 650 | 857 |
| 1880s | 693 | 730 |
Timothy comes from the Greek Timotheos, “honouring God,” from timē (“honour”) and theos (“god”). Timothy was a young companion of the apostle Paul.
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.
Nicholas is more popular than Timothy today: about 3,115 US babies were given the name Nicholas in 2025, compared with 1,734 named Timothy.
Timothy means Honoring God (Greek origin), while Nicholas means Victory of the people (Greek origin).
In US records, Timothy first appears in 1880 and Nicholas in 1880, so Timothy has the longer recorded history.