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 [ 3 syll. nic-ho-las, ni-chol-as ] The boy name Nicholas is pronounced as NIHKahLahS or NIHKLahS KEY. Nicholas is largely used in the English and French languages, and its origin is Old Greek. The name's meaning is victory of the people. Derived from the elements 'nike' meaning victory ; 'laos' meaning people. Nikolaos (Old Greek) is an old form of Nicholas. The name was borne by Saint Nicholas (270-343), a bishop of Myra. He was known for secretly giving gifts to others, and was later immortalized as Santa Claus, from a variant of the Dutch form of his name, Sinterklaas or Sint-Nicolaas; he is also the patron saint of, among other things, children. The name was also borne by five popes, two Russian emperors, and the lead character of the Charles Dickens novel Nicholas Nickleby (1838-1839). The name was adopted by English speakers in the 12th century, when it first appeared with the '-ch-' spelling. The popularity of the name suffered after the Reformation, but it later saw a revival in the mid 20th century. The name Nicola (English, German, and Italian) is the female equivalent of Nicholas. Nicholas is a widely used name; it has 87 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants of Nicholas used in English include Claus (used in Dutch, German, and Scandinavian too), Colin (used in Scottish and French too), Collin, Nels (used in Scandinavian too), Nichol, Nichole, Nichols, Nicklaus, Nickleby, Niels (used in Dutch and Scandinavian too), Nikky, and Nils (used in Scandinavian too). Other English forms include the short forms Cole, Nic, Nick, Nicol (used in Scottish too), and Nik, the pet forms Nickey, Nickie, Nicky, Nikki (used in Dutch and too), and Nikko, and the variant spelling Nickolas. Foreign variants of Nicholas include Cola (Italian), Colas (French), Kalya (Russian), Klaas (Dutch and German), Klaus (German and Scandinavian), Kola (Latvian), Kolja (Russian), Kolya (Russian), Launo (Finnish), Micolau (Catalan), Micu (Hungarian), Miki (Spanish and Hungarian), Miklos (Hungarian), Miklós (Hungarian), Mikolai (Polish), Mikolaj (Polish), Mikolas (Czech), Mikolás (Czech), Milek (Polish), Neacal (Scottish), Nicanor (Spanish), Niccolo (Italian), Niccolò (Italian), Nicki (German), Nicklas (German and Scandinavian), Nickolaus (German), Niclas (Scandinavian), Niclaus (German), Nicola (German and Italian), Nicolaas (Dutch), Nicolae (Romanian), Nicolai (Russian and Scandinavian), Nicolaio (Portuguese), Nicolao (Spanish), Nicolas (French and Spanish), Nicolau (Catalan and Portuguese), Nicolaus (German), Nicolás (Spanish), Nicole (French), Nicolo (Italian), Nicolò (Italian), Niilo (Finnish), Niki (Polish, German, and Hungarian), Nikita (Russian and Slavic), Niklas (German and Scandinavian), Niklaus (German), Niklavs (Latvian), Niklos (Hungarian), Niko (German), Nikola (Hungarian and Slavic), Nikolaas (Dutch), Nikolai (Estonian and Russian), Nikolais (Latvian), Nikolaj (Russian), Nikolaos (Greek), Nikolas (German and Slavic), Nikolaus (German), Nikolos (Greek), Nikos (Greek), Nikula (Czech), Nikulas (Czech), and Nioclas (Irish). Specific foreign variants include the pet forms Nico (German) and Nisse (Scandinavian). See also the related form, Nicodemus (English). Nicholas is very popular as a baby name for boys. The name's popularity rose from the 1900s up to the 1990s; before that, it was of occasional use only. At the peak of its usage in 1995, 1.451% of baby boys were given the name Nicholas. It ranked at #6 then. The baby name has since experienced a fall in popularity. In 2008, its usage was 0.575% and its ranking #29, but it was nonetheless the most popular out of all boy names in its group. In 2008, Nicholas was twice as popular as the next most popular name, Cole (English). Nicholas has mostly been a boy name, though in the past century it has also been used for girls. In 1987, the name Nicholas was given to 140 times as many boys than girls. Baby names that sound like Nicholas include Nicolas (French and Spanish), Nicolás (Spanish), Nikolas (German and Slavic), Nicklaus (English), Nickolas (English), Nickolaus (German), Nicolaas (Dutch), Nicolaus (German), Nikolaas (Dutch), Nikolaos (Greek), Nikolaus (German), Nikolos (Greek), Nikulas (Czech), Nioclas (Irish), Nichols (English), Nicklas (German and Scandinavian), Niclas (Scandinavian), Niklas (German and Scandinavian), Niklaus (German), and Niklos (Hungarian). Details of famous persons named Nicholas: KEY: Pronunciation for Nicholas: N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; K as in "key (K.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; K as in "key (K.IY)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)"   |
