Nicolay surname: U.S. census count, rank and records | FamilyCrests

The Nicolay surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 863 people carried this name — #27,818 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 344,800 people counted. That is up 2% from 844 in 2000.

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In Belgium’s population register

At least 630 people named Nicolay live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Luxembourg Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Luxembourg Province 171
Namur 160
Liège 159
Antwerp 68
Hainaut 32
Brussels-Capital 30
Walloon Brabant 10

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 459 people named Nicolay.

24 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 36 départements, most often Moselle.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born

Born outside France 24
Moselle 151
Paris 53
Pas-de-Calais 50
Meurthe-et-Moselle 38
Somme 24
Marne 21
Ardennes 19
Alpes-Maritimes 13

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 211 people named Nicolay live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Córdoba.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Córdoba 83
Buenos Aires Province 49
Santa Fe 38
Mendoza 28
La Pampa 13

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

64 people named Nicolay live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Graubünden.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Graubünden 30
Zurich 22
Vaud 7
Bern 5

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

Who carried it

People named Nicolay,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John George Nicolay
    John George Nicolay 1832–1901 · writer
  • Heinrich Nicolay 1667–1722 · physician
  • William Nicolay 1771–1842 · military personnel
  • William Nicolay 1771–1842 · military personnel
  • Joseph Nicolay 1798–1842 · politician
  • Anne Sophia Hickey 1822–1857

Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Nicolay.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Nicolay is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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