Given name
Nicholaus
“of the victorious people”
Nicholaus is a variant of Nicholas. One Greek interpretation is “of the victorious people.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Nicholaus is a variant of Nicholas. One Greek interpretation is “of the victorious people.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Nicholaus is a variant of Nicholas. An origin associated with Nicholas is Dutch.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1950. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Nicholaus is a variant of Nicholas. The history of Nicholas gives this family its wider story. Nicholas’s Christian associations include Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop of Myra in Lycia, about whom virtually nothing factual is known.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Nicholaus through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,260
- 3,260 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1981
- 168 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #13,332 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −48%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 13,332 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 168 in 1981. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,317 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Nicholaus’s family of names
In Middle English usage, Nicholaus has a related form in Nicholas. In English usage, Nicholaus has a conventional equivalent in the German form Nikolaus.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Nicholaus, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Nichols
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Nicanor
“a conqueror” · “of the victorious army”
>99% boys
Nicko
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Nils
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Narciso
Narciso is a masculine given name. It is used in Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.
>99% boys
Santigo
“refers to Saint James”
>99% boys
Spiros
“one who transports goods; a basket”
>99% boys
Nickolas
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys