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Gender Masculine
From the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos) meaning "victory of the people" [1][2][3], derived from Greek νίκη (nike) meaning "victory" and λαός (laos) meaning "people" [4][5]. Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop from Anatolia who, according to legend, saved the daughters of a poor man from lives of prostitution. He is the patron saint of children, sailors and merchants, as well as Greece and Russia. He formed the basis for the figure known as Santa Claus (created in the 19th century from Dutch Sinterklaas), the bringer of Christmas presents.
Due to the renown of the saint, this name has been widely used in the Christian world. It has been common in England since the 12th century, though it became a bit less popular after the Protestant Reformation. The name has been borne by five popes and two tsars of Russia.
Feminine FormsNicola(English) Nichola(English (British))
Other Languages & CulturesNikollë(Albanian) Nicolaus, Nikolaos(Ancient Greek) Nikola(Basque) Mikalai, Mikalay, Mikola(Belarusian) Nikola, Nikolai, Nikolay(Bulgarian) Nicolau(Catalan) Nikola, Nikica, Niko, Nikša(Croatian) Mikuláš, Mikoláš, Mikula, Nikola(Czech) Nicolai, Niklas, Nikolaj, Cai, Claus, Kai, Kaj, Kay, Klaus, Nels, Nicklas, Niclas, Niels, Nils, Nis(Danish) Nicolaas, Kai, Kay, Klaas, Nick, Nico, Niek, Nikolaas(Dutch) Nikolao, Niĉjo(Esperanto) Nigul(Estonian) Niklas, Kai, Kaj, Klaus, Launo, Niclas, Niilo, Niko(Finnish) Nicolas(French) Kai, Kay, Klaes(Frisian) Nicolau(Galician) Nikoloz, Nika, Niko, Nikusha(Georgian) Niklas, Nikolaus, Claus, Kai, Kay, Klaus, Nickolaus, Nico, Nicolaus, Niko(German) Niklaus(German (Swiss)) Nicolaos, Nikolaos, Nik, Nikolas, Nikos(Greek) Miklós, Nikolasz, Kolos, Miksa(Hungarian) Nioclás(Irish) Niccolò, Nicola, Nico, Nicolao, Nicolino, Nicolò(Italian) Nikolajs, Klāvs, Niklāvs, Niks(Latvian) Klaos(Limburgish) Klaas(Low German) Nikola, Nikolče, Nikolche(Macedonian) Nichol, Nicol, Col(Medieval English) Nikora(Māori) Nicolai, Niklas, Kai, Kaj, Kay, Klaus, Nils(Norwegian) Mikołaj(Polish) Nicolau, Nico(Portuguese) Nicolae, Neculai, Nicu, Nicușor(Romanian) Nikolai, Nikolay, Kolya(Russian) Niillas, Nilas(Sami) Nicol(Scottish) Neacel(Scottish Gaelic) Nikola, Nikica(Serbian) Mikuláš, Nikola(Slovak) Miklavž, Nikola, Nikolaj, Nik, Niko(Slovene) Nicolás, Nico(Spanish) Niklas, Cai, Caj, Claes, Clas, Kai, Kaj, Kay, Klas, Nicklas, Niclas, Nils(Swedish) Mykola, Mykolay(Ukrainian)
classic mature formal upper class natural wholesome strong refined strange serious
Images
Saint Nicholas of Myra Saves Three Innocents by Repin (1888)
- Lexicon of Greek Personal Names, available from https://search.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/browse.html?facet-nymRef=Νικόλαος.
- Withycombe, Elizabeth Gidley. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names. Oxford, 1945, page 100.
- Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford, 1990, page 249.
- Liddell, Scott and Jones. An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, entry ni/kh2, available from https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0058%3Aentry%3Dni%2Fkh2.
- Liddell, Scott and Jones. An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, entry lao/s, available from https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0058%3Aentry%3Dlao%2Fs.