Nicholas m
English and French: from the post-classical Greek personal name Nikolaos, composed of the elements nikē victory + laos people. The spelling with -ch- first occurred as early as the 12th century, and became firmly established at the time of the Reformation, although Nicolas is still occasionally found. St Nicholas was a 4th-century bishop of Myra in Lycia, about whom virtually nothing factual is known, although a vast body of legend grew up around him, and he became the patron saint of Greece and Russia, as well as of children, sailors, merchants, and pawnbrokers. His feast-day is 6 December, and among the many roles which legend has assigned to him is that of bringer of Christmas presents, in the guise of ‘Santa Claus’ (an alteration of the Dutch form of his name, Sinterklaas).
Variant: Nicolas.
Cognates: Scottish: NICOL (SEE Nicol); Neacal (Gaelic). Irish Gaelic: Nioclas. Italian: Nicola, Nic(c)olò. Spanish: Nicolás, Nicolao. Catalan: Nicolau, Micolau. Portuguese: Nicolau. German: Nikolaus, Niklaus. Scandinavian: Niklas; Nils (Swedish, Norwegian); Niels (Danish). Finnish: Launo. Russian: Nikolai. Polish: Mikolaj. Czech: Mikoláš. Romanian: Nicolae. Hungarian: Miklós. Finnish: Niilo.
First names dictionary. 2012.