Greek3 syllablesClassic
Meaning: victory of the people.
Nicholas
| Origin | Greek — from Nikolaos, a classical compound name |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Victory of the people, from Greek nikē (victory) + laos (people) |
| Pronunciation | NIK-uh-lus (three syllables) |
| Popularity | Outside the current U.S. top 100, after a run as one of the most given American names of the 1990s |
| Variants | Nicolas, Niccolò (Italian), Nicolás (Spanish), Nikolai (Russian), Nikolaus (German), Klaas (Dutch) |
| Nicknames | Nick, Nicky, Nico; Colin began life as a medieval English diminutive of Nicholas |
| Feast day | 6 December (St Nicholas of Myra) |
History & meaning
Nikolaos was already circulating in the Greek-speaking world before Christianity — Acts names a Nicolaus of Antioch among the seven deacons — and its parts are unambiguous: nikē, victory, the same word behind the goddess Nike, and laos, the people. Victory of the people, or victory belonging to the people. Then one man took the name over completely. Nicholas, bishop of Myra in Lycia in the fourth century, acquired a reputation for giving in secret, and around that reputation grew the largest cult of any non-biblical saint in Christendom.
The consequences are everywhere. He is patron of sailors, merchants and children, and his dedication is one of the most common on English parish churches. Russia adopted Nikolai as an imperial name and crowned two tsars with it. The Dutch brought Sinterklaas to New Amsterdam, and American publishers and poets finished the job of turning a Mediterranean bishop into a man with reindeer. Nicholas itself was steady in English for eight centuries, surged in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, and has been drifting gently down since.
Why parents choose it
It is a long formal name with an unusually painless short form. Nick costs nothing, works in every register from boardroom to playground, and never sounds like a diminutive being tolerated. Nicholas also travels: a Nicholas is a Nicolás in Madrid and a Niccolò in Milan without anyone breaking stride.
Middle names for Nicholas
Three syllables with a trailing unstressed ending call for a single blunt beat after them: Nicholas Hugh, Nicholas Blaise, Nicholas Reeve, Nicholas Emory. There is more on balancing long first names in the middle names guide.
Famous Nicholases
Nicolaus Copernicus published the model that moved the earth. Nicholas II was the last tsar of Russia. In the present tense, the English actor Nicholas Hoult and the novelist Nicholas Sparks keep the full spelling in circulation.
Consider instead
Dominic has the same Catholic-classic weight and is likewise just outside the top 100. Xavier is another three-syllable saint's name with a sharper edge. And if it is the long-formal-name-plus-easy-nickname structure you want, Theodore currently does it better than anything else in America.