Nicolay vs Per
Nicolay and Percompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Boys
In 2021, Nicolay was ranked #445 and Per #220 among boys in Norway.
Nicolay and Per over time
Nicolay and Per appear together in 1 published list, across 48 years of shared records. Per held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Nicolay in 0.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Per reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 1 of those lists, and Nicolay in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Longest-running competitions
Nicolay and Per were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 48 years, from 1971 to 2021, ending at #445 and #220.
List by list
Norway · Boys48 shared years, 1971–2021
Nicolay held the stronger position in 0 of those years, Per in 48.
Highest recorded here: Nicolay #151 in 2009, Per #8 in 1971.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2021: Nicolay #445, Per #220.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Nicolay | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Official statistical record (evidence-only) | Official statistical record (evidence-only) |
| Gender usage | male | male |
| Meaning | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Origin | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Pronunciation | Not yet recorded | |
| Syllables | 3 | 1 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | NO | NO |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Boys #445 (2021) | Norway · Boys #142 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 82/100 | 95/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 40/100 | 40/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Nicolay has 3 syllables, compared with 1 for Per.
- Both names have recorded usage in NO.
How each name got here
Nicolay
Popularity journey
First recorded1971
First recorded at #565 among boys in Norway in 1971 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1971–2021
Highest recorded position: #151 among boys in Norway, in 2009 (recorded 1971–2021).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2021
Most recently recorded at #445 among boys in Norway, in 2021.
Norway · Boys
Per
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #1 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #1 among boys in Norway, in 1945 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #142 among boys in Norway, in 2025.
Norway · Boys