Given name & surname
Nicolas
“of the victorious people”
Nicolas is a variant of Nicholas. One Greek interpretation is “of the victorious people.”
Original GreekΝικολαος
Meaning & origin
What it means
Nicolas is a variant of Nicholas. One Greek interpretation is “of the victorious people.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Nicolas is a variant of Nicholas. An origin associated with Nicholas is Dutch.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From the Greek noun nike (νικη), “victory,” and the Greek noun laos (λαος), “[common] people.”
From biblical name research
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1882. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Nicolas 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
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Nicolas appears in Revelation 2:6, Revelation 2:15.
- Revelation 2:6
- Revelation 2:15
From biblical name research
Nicolas through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 101,764
- 101,585 boys · 179 girls
- Most popular year
- 2003
- 3,012 babies
- 2025
- 2,053
- #177 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −2%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,053 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 177 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 1.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 3,003 in 2003. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (401). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 99,604 as a first name in 2020; 9,318 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Nicolas’s family of names
In French usage, Nicolas has a diminutive in Colin. Nicolas shares a linguistic root with Nicholas. In Norwegian usage, Nicolas has a conventional equivalent in the Italian form Nicola.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Nicolas has relatives in 27 languages.
46 related names in 27 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 28
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Nicholasvariant · Old French, Middle English
- Nicodiminutive · nrf, English
- Colsonpet form · French
- Colindiminutive · French
- Colettediminutive · French
- Nikolasvariant · Portuguese, Norwegian Bokmål
- Nickdiminutive · English, French
- Nikolausvariant · German
Show 20 moreShow fewer
- Nickydiminutive · English
- Coyadiminutive · French
- Nicollaslikely variant
- Nicdiminutive · nrf, French
- Colinediminutive · French
- Nicolinediminutive · French
- Nicolauvariant · Portuguese, Galician
- Nickidiminutive · French
- Konidiminutive · French
- Nicolasslikely variant
- Nic'lessevariant · nrf
- Collardpet form · French
- Colletdiminutive · French
- Nicotdiminutive · English
- Kolingdiminutive · ceb
- Kolasdiminutive · ceb
- Kulasclipped form · Tagalog, ceb
- Colineaudiminutive · French
- Colichediminutive · French
- Colasdiminutive · French, English
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 48
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Nicolefeminine form · French, English
- Nikolaiequivalent
- Nicolettefeminine form · French
- Nikolaborrowing · Czech
- Nikolaosequivalent
- NicolaItalian
- Nilsequivalent
- Nielsequivalent
Show 40 moreShow fewer
- Nikolayequivalent
- Nikosequivalent
- Mykolaequivalent
- NicolaasDutch
- NicolausLatin
- Collettpatronymic from · French
- Nicolaeequivalent
- Niclasequivalent
- Nicolinoequivalent
- NikolajSlovene
- Nikolajusequivalent
- Nikólaosequivalent
- Nikolaoequivalent
- Nicolaesequivalent
- Miklavžequivalent
- Niccolòequivalent
- Nicolayequivalent
- Miklósequivalent
- Nickelequivalent
- Мікалайequivalent
- Nicolòequivalent
- Mikalaiequivalent
- НиколайRussian
- Νικολέταfeminine form · Greek
- ΝικόλαςGreek
- ΝικόλαοςGreek
- Nícolasalso known as · Portuguese
- Nicolássource · Spanish
- MikulášCzech
- Nikolajsequivalent
- Nikulásequivalent
- Миколаequivalent
- Mikolaequivalent
- Mikławšequivalent
- Νίκοςequivalent
- NigolaSardinian
- MikołajPolish
- NioclásIrish
- NikolazBreton
- القديسArabic
See also 8
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Nicolas
- Nicolas Sarkozy23rd president of the French Republic from 2007 to 2012born 1955
- Nicolas CageAmerican actor (born 1964)
- Nicolas PoussinFrench painter (1594-1665)
- Nicolas AppertFrench inventor of airtight food preservation (1749–1841)
- Nicolas Boileau-DespréauxFrench poet and critic (1636–1711)
- Nicolas Léonard Sadi CarnotFrench physicist (1796–1832)
- Nikolai BerdyaevRussian philosopher (1874–1948)
- Marquis de CondorcetFrench philosopher, mathematician, and political scientist (1743–1794)
- Nicolas AnelkaFrench football manager (born 1979)
Characters named Nicolas: Nicolas Chauvin (legendary French soldier).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Nicolas, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Nickolas
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Nicklas
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Nicoli
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Dawson
“the son of David”
96% boys · 4% girls
Nixon
“of the victorious people”
95% boys · 5% girls
Collin
“high” · “of the victorious people”
99% boys · 1% girls
Niklaas
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Nickolaus
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys