Nikolai peaked in 2016 and holds at current rank #589, with 10,550 total SSA bearers. It's the Russian form of Nicholas — carrying the same meaning, the same patron saint, the same diminutive Nik — but with an unmistakably Eastern European bearing that makes it feel distinct from Nicholas or Nicola or Nicolas. The -ai ending does specific work here.
Victory of the People, Russian Edition
Nikolai traces through Russian from the Greek Nikolaos, from nike (victory) + laos (people). Nicholas was the name of the patron saint of children, sailors, and gift-giving — Saint Nicholas of Myra — which is how it became Santa Claus's original name. The Russian form Nikolai was carried by two tsars : Nikolai I and Nikolai II : and by Nikolai Gogol, the novelist who wrote "Dead Souls" and "The Overcoat." The name has spent centuries at the center of Russian literary and political life.
The -ai Sound
The Russian -ai ending sounds different from the English -as or the Italian -a in Nicola. Nikolai ends on a diphthong : ni-ko-LYE : which gives it a sweeping, almost musical finish. That distinctive ending is what separates it from the Nicholas crowd. Nik is the natural daily-use nickname, shared with Nicholas but via a different path. The full name on a formal occasion sounds aristocratic in a way that Nicholas with all its friendly associations doesn't quite reach.
The Russian Register
Choosing Nikolai in 2025 requires parents to be comfortable with a name that reads as Russian : which means it carries cultural associations that are complicated by current geopolitics for some families, and entirely irrelevant for others. Parents of Russian, Ukrainian, Eastern European, or Slavic heritage often choose it for cultural continuity. The name itself is beautiful regardless of the political associations it may carry in any given year. Compare Nikolai vs Nicholas to see the difference clearly.