Nico Buwalda; Image via Wikipedia
Today’s pick is a fascinating gender neutral name with a certain sparky, international vibe.
Thanks to Findley for suggesting Nico as our Baby Name of the Day.
Originally, Nico is a Dutch version of Nicholas. Or maybe he’s related to Nicodemus, a separate name with the same meaning, or Dominic, a saintly appellation. Regardless, Nico is a logical short form of any name containing the nic sound – as is Nick or Nicky – and he’s also heard in German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and other European languages.
Nicholas was a wildly popular fourth century saint whose name has seen steady use over the years. Royals and popes have answered to the name.
There are bunches of early 20th century Nicos, guys like Nico Buwalda, the Dutch footballer pictured above, or Italian crooner Nico Fidenco. Over the course of the twentieth century, we find more and more Nicos.
Some of it may simply be better recording of personal biographies. That’s how we know, for example, that youngest Llewelyn-Davies brother Nicholas answered to Nico. (Along with George, John, Peter, and Michael, the brothers and their family were friends of J.M. Barrie, and the inspiration for Peter Pan.)
Llewelyn-Davis is the first English Nico I find. But then, despite Nicholas’ steady use, he wasn’t wildly popular in English until recent decades. In 1900, Nicholas ranked #200. Feminine form Nicole is even more of a new arrival. She first appears in the US Top 1000 in 1942, and stayed at the fringes until the 1960s.
All of the Nick names were on top of the world in the 1980s. In the midst of this, in 1988, Nico debuted as a boys’ name. He reached #591 in 2010.
Nico in La Dolce Vita; Image via Wikipedia
Nico has never charted as a girls’ name, and was given to just 39 girls last year. But she has had some use for girls, thanks to a German singer. Born Christa Päffgen, the lingering rumor is that her stage name was borrowed from Greek director Nikos Papatakis, also nicknamed Nico.
In recent years, Nico has been catching on :
- Actress Thandie Newton has daughters called Ripley and Nico, and Nico is said to be named after singer.
- Coldplay’s Guy Berryman has a daughter called Nico, as does the lead singer of Blind Melon, the late Shannon Hoon.
- Short-lived television series Lipstick Jungle included a character named Nico, a high-powered magazine editor.
- Then there’s singer-songwriter Neko Case. It appears to be her given name.
In Germany and Austria, Nico is big for boys, and it is also the name of a male character in the Percy Jackson series.
iNFORMER says
September 24, 2015 at 5:35 AMThe name NICO was introduced in 1979 THROUGH 1989 by a Internationally Famous Child Singer, who was the first Elvis Presley Imitator. His name is Nico Princely. He had a record on Bill Board called Love as Good as Gold. STORIES EMERGED INTERNATIONALLY magazines, Enquirer and show biz Variety etc. As a child, he did not want to continue in show biz, so his parents did not encourage it. NICO PRINCELY was the first public introduction of the name NICO, which is derived from NICOLAS, A GREEK, ITALIAN FAMILY NAME.
appellationmountain says
September 24, 2015 at 9:04 AMHi, Informer – that’s interesting, and Nico may have helped boost the name. But it was already in use in the US as a formal given name as early as 1960. So there’s an awful lot to the story of Nico. Thanks for adding another piece!
k says
October 20, 2012 at 5:03 PMI’m a big fan of the musician nico, so only ever known it as a female name. I love it as a female name!
dana nichole says
August 24, 2012 at 10:56 AMIm a guy and i have a unisex name. My middle name
Is nichole. Has anyone else met a guy named nichole?
Eponymia says
January 19, 2012 at 11:44 AMNico’s great — I prefer it to any of the longer forms. I’m also torn on the “C” vs. “K” debate — it just depends on the name it’s paired with. It helps that every Nico/Niko I’ve ever met has been totally adorable.
Sebastiane says
January 18, 2012 at 11:06 PMI have always liked Nico. Very cool, suave name!
Julie says
January 18, 2012 at 3:46 PMI’m just inferring this from conversations with older Germans about ambiguous names, so take this with a grain of salt. Germany requires gender-specific names, so I’m guessing the singer started using the gender bending name because of her nihilist/avant-garde persona. It’s a bit like Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper, a name meant to be shocking.
I really like Nicolai, nicknamed Nico. It’s very charming.
Jodi says
January 18, 2012 at 2:09 PMI’m so excited that you featured Nico today! We will be bringing our adopted son Nikolai, whom we are calling Niko, home from Bulgaria in about two weeks. Reading all about his name today brought a smile to my face 🙂 I have never been a huge fan of the Nic- names to be honest, but I first came across Nico on a baby name message board about six years ago, and it has really grown on my since then. When we learned our son’s name, we wanted both to keep it as is (since he is nearly six and his name is already such a part of him), and also to give him a spunky nickname that would fit with the style of our girls’ names. Niko fit the bill perfectly. I wrestled (lengthily!) with the c vs. k issue, but ultimately we landed on the side of preserving the integrity of the name as it is spelled in cyrrilic (now to teach him that his name no longer starts with “H”…)
Julie says
January 18, 2012 at 3:02 PMCongratulations and good luck Jodi! I adore Nikolai it’s a fabulous name.
appellationmountain says
January 18, 2012 at 7:36 PMOh Jodi – congratulations! How wonderful for you and your family. And oh my goodness, a boy with five sisters! That sounds just fabulous.
Siobhan says
January 18, 2012 at 7:53 PMCongratulations Jodi – how exciting for you! Nikolai is a gorgeous name too.
Sarah A says
January 19, 2012 at 2:37 AMCongratulations Jodi!! And I love Niko for Nikolai, it really does fit with your daughters names 🙂
Nicole says
January 18, 2012 at 11:41 AMEven though I am a NIcole born in 84 when it was super popular and this has resulted in me being identified as Nicole A. in all of my school classes, I actually like my name. I love the Nic- names.. Nico being on the top of my list. I dot feel it is way too close to my name to use on a child, I like the idea of them having a name all their own, and not always have to explain that “I was named after my mom” or “I was named after my dad”… I also wouldnt like the confusion arrund the house for 18 years.. always looking every time my son’s name is said. … so I wouldnt use it, but I would love to see Nico around much more often.
Lady Gwyn says
January 18, 2012 at 10:09 AMI don’t see Nico as a girlish name, either. I like a lot of the Nic- names, like Nicola, Nikolai, or Nicolette. I am not a fan of Nico, the character in the Percy Jackson series is an…intense character (for lack of a better idea) and kind of ruined the name for me.
Diana says
January 18, 2012 at 9:54 AMI HEART THIS NAME SO MUCH. I was considering it for either boy or girl, as a nn for Veronica or Nicholas.
SkyeRhyly says
January 18, 2012 at 9:30 AMYeah I can’t see it as gender neutral either, sounds really masculine to me. But I see Nicky as gender neutral, maybe that would be a better option?
I really don’t like Nicholas, but I do like Nicola, Nicolai and Nico/Niko for boys, and Nicole, Nicolette for girls.
Sarah A says
January 19, 2012 at 2:19 AMI completely agree – I see Nico as firmly masculine but Nicky feels gender neutral.
V says
January 18, 2012 at 9:07 AMWhen I hear this name I immediately think of a talking cat from a cartoon 🙂
i.heart.nerds says
January 18, 2012 at 8:09 AMSee I don’t see this as a unisex name at all.
For me it is like Luca/Luka, it sounds softer but is completely masculine.
Siobhan says
January 18, 2012 at 7:52 AMSo thrilled you’ve chosen to profile Nico, as it’s one of my all-time favourite names, and the name I have picked out for my next baby, whether it’s a boy or a girl. I’m secretly hoping I’ll be able to bestow this name on a girl, however, as I am particularly fond of it for a girl, and have a couple of awesome middle names picked out to pair it with too! Although I’m not generally a fan of ‘unisex’ names, for me the singer Nico made it an acceptable choice for females.
Charlotte Vera says
January 18, 2012 at 5:05 AMNico comes across as extremely masculine to me, although I can understand why some would see it as gender neutral (i.e. it’s similarity to other gender neutral / feminine names that begin with Nic). I think I prefer it as a nickname (no pun intended!) than as a name in its own right though.
kat says
January 18, 2012 at 2:34 AMHmm, I can’t seem to be able to look at Nico as a gender-neutral name. It just sounds masculine to me and looks even more so in writing. I don’t know if it’s because I have a male cousin who goes by Nico.
fruitfulvinewife says
January 18, 2012 at 2:09 AMAs always, a great, thoughtful breakdown. Unfortunately, tho, I can’t get past Necco wafers on this name. Ugh!