Nicola
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. A feminine version of Nicholas, first used in the 20th century.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Nicola (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Nicola has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2005. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | – | – |
| 1999 | – | – |
| 2000 | – | – |
| 2001 | – | – |
| 2002 | – | – |
| 2003 | – | – |
| 2004 | – | 2 |
| 2005 | – | 5 |
| 2006 | – | – |
| 2007 | 2 | 3 |
| 2008 | 3 | – |
| 2009 | 4 | 3 |
| 2010 | 8 | – |
| 2011 | 3 | – |
| 2012 | 4 | – |
| 2013 | 3 | 2 |
| 2014 | 3 | 2 |
| 2015 | 5 | – |
| 2016 | – | – |
| 2017 | 3 | – |
| 2018 | – | 2 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 |
| 2020 | – | 4 |
| 2021 | – | 4 |
| 2022 | – | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 90 | 90 |
| 2000 | 93 | 93 |
| 2001 | 94 | 102 |
| 2002 | 96 | 105 |
| 2003 | 104 | 118 |
| 2004 | 100 | 119 |
| 2005 | 107 | 123 |
| 2006 | 109 | 130 |
| 2007 | 115 | 134 |
| 2008 | 115 | 132 |
| 2009 | 123 | 130 |
| 2010 | 131 | 143 |
| 2011 | 144 | 146 |
| 2012 | 149 | 155 |
| 2013 | 152 | 161 |
| 2014 | 167 | 168 |
| 2015 | 177 | 176 |
| 2016 | 186 | 178 |
| 2017 | 197 | 184 |
| 2018 | 196 | 191 |
| 2019 | 192 | 191 |
| 2020 | 193 | 202 |
Nicola in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Nicola.Hi! My name is Nicola.
- Vet du om Nicola kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Nicola is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Jag ska fika med Nicola i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Nicola this afternoon.
- Nicolas mamma är lärare.Nicola's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Nicolas mamma is Nicola's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Nicola
How do you pronounce Nicola in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Nicola in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Nicola mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. A feminine version of Nicholas, first used in the 20th century.
How popular is Nicola in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Nicola in 2022. In 2020, 395 people in Sweden had Nicola as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2005 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.