MEANING & HISTORY
What does Nico mean?
Nico is a short form of Nicholas and sometimes Nicodemus. The two Greek base names both contain a victory element, but their remaining structure is not identical.
Nicholas combines nike and laos; Nicodemus combines nike and demos, also meaning victory of the people. Naming the possible bases is more accurate than assigning the entire meaning of one to every Nico. Its compact spelling is an established personal form and may stand independently in a person’s registered name.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
EnglishEtymology & source
A diminutive of the male given names Nicolas, Nicola, Nikos, etc.; A diminutive of the female given name Nichola.
EnglishEtymology & source
Variant of Nick + -o.
A diminutive of the male given name Nicholas.
SpanishEtymology & source
a diminutive of the male given name Nicolás
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Nico
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Nico Elorde
basketball player
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Nico Salva
Filipino basketball player (born 1990)
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Wikidata
5
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Nico Salva, Nico Elorde
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Nico in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Nico
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Mico♂Spelling in the Miko and Miku name families
- Nica♀Spelling of Nika, a familiar name with several parents
- Nick♂Short form of Nicholas
- Nicol·Anglicized Neacal, in the Nicholas name family
- Nicon·Latin Nicon, from Greek Nikon and the verb win or conquer
- Nicoy♂Familiar form of Nico
- Niko♂Form or short form of Nicholas
- Nilo♂Nile-name form; independently also a Danilo shortening
What rhymes with Nico?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Explore Nico further
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q353259 — Nico (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Nico Salva (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q353259 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Nico Elorde (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q353259 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Nico (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Nico (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Nico (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.
- Behind the Name — Nicholas (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.
- Behind the Name — Nicodemus (opens in a new tab)
The alternative Greek base combines nike and demos, both giving a victory-of-the-people interpretation through different roots from Nikolaos.