Nicola is a distinctive choice, ranked #4201 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Nicola in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#4201
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About the Name Nicola
Nicola has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 1090 places in five years. It was most popular in 1996 at #87 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996. It briefly reached the UK top 100, though it typically sits a little further down the charts.
Nicola is rare in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Nicola in their class.
⭐ Famous People Named Nicola
Nicola Benedetti — Nicola Joy Nadia Benedetti is a Scottish classical violinist and festival director.
Nicola Formby — Nicola Elizabeth Formby is a South African journalist, company director and food consultant, and a former model and actress.
Nicola Sturgeon — Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023.
Biographical summaries are shortened from Wikipedia and are used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; those summaries remain available under that same licence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Nicola
Unlikely. With around 5 UK babies named Nicola per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Nicola in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Nicola is declining: down 3,037 places since 2020, to #4,201 in 2025. It peaked at #87 in 1996.
Nicola is a distinctive choice sitting outside the mainstream UK top names. Parents choosing less common names often find their children appreciate the individuality as they grow up, rarely needing to add an initial to distinguish themselves.
Notable people named Nicola include: Nicola Benedetti, Nicola Formby and Nicola Sturgeon. Short summaries for each appear below.
Nicola does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Nicolas in the wild.
5
UK babies named Nicola (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↓ 3037 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Nicola
Almost certainly the only Nicola in the class
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UK Popularity (1996–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Nicola
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023.
Enrico De Nicola was an Italian jurist, journalist, politician, statesman, who served as the first president of Italy in 1948 and provisional head of state of republican Italy from 1946 to 1948.