Nikolay is a distinctive choice, ranked #2952 in 2025. Your child is likely to be the only Nikolay in their class.
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UK Rank 2025
#2952
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About the Name Nikolay
Nikolay has seen a notable decline in recent years, dropping 833 places in five years. It was most popular in 2021 at #1250 — parents choosing it today are making a deliberately counter-trend decision. The name has been a regular feature in UK records since 2008.
Nikolay is rare in the UK, so your child is very likely to be the only Nikolay in their class.
⭐ Famous People Named Nikolay
Nikolay Valev — Nikolay Valev is a Bulgarian football forward who currently plays for Tundzha Yambol.
Nikolay Tsiskaridze — Nikolay Maximovich Tsiskaridze PAR (Russian: Николай Максимович Цискаридзе; Georgian: ნიკოლოზ ცისკარიძე, Nik'oloz Cisk'aridze) is a Russian ballet dancer who had been a member of the Bolshoi Ballet for 21 years.
Nikolay Vladinov — Nikolay Vladinov is a Bulgarian former footballer who played as a forward and attacking midfielder.
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 Nikolay
Unlikely. With around 7 UK babies named Nikolay per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Nikolay in their class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Nikolay is declining: down 1,521 places since 2020, to #2,952 in 2025. It peaked at #1,250 in 2021.
Nikolay 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 Nikolay include: Nikolay Valev, Nikolay Tsiskaridze and Nikolay Vladinov. Short summaries for each appear below.
Nikolay does not appear in the US top 1,000 baby names, making it a distinctively British choice — your child is unlikely to encounter American Nikolays in the wild.
7
UK babies named Nikolay (2025)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.0
In a school of 600
↓ 1521 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Nikolay
Almost certainly the only Nikolay in the class
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UK Popularity (2008–2025)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
No US data available for this name
✨ Similar names to Nikolay
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Nikolay Maximovich Tsiskaridze PAR (Russian: Николай Максимович Цискаридзе; Georgian: ნიკოლოზ ცისკარიძე, Nik'oloz Cisk'aridze) is a Russian ballet dancer who had been a member of the Bolshoi Ballet for 21 years.
Nikolay Semyonovich Bondar is a Russian jurist and constitutional law scholar who served as the judge of the Constitutional Court of Russia from 2000 to 2020.
Nikolay Nikolayevich Benardos (Russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Бенардо́с, Ukrainian: Микола Миколайович Бенардо́с; 1842–1905) was a Russian inventor of Greek descent who in 1881 introduced carbon arc welding, which was the first practical arc welding method.
Nikolay Vladimirovich Kolyada (Russian: Николай Владимирович Коляда; also transliterated as Nikolai Koliada; 4 December 1957 – 2 March 2026) was a Russian actor, theatre director, writer, playwright, and teacher.