Niko is a short form of Nikolaos, the Greek source of Nicholas, which means "victory of the people", from nike, victory, and laos, people. It is a full name in Finland, Croatia, Slovenia and Georgia, and in America it feels livelier and more international than Nick. Niko entered the US top 1000 in 2006, climbed from number 629 in 2015 to a peak of 287 in 2022 and ranks 325th in 2025.