Nicholas

Where Nicholas comes from

From Middle English Nicholas, from Old French Nicholas, from Latin Nīcolāus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος (Nikólaos), from νίκη (níkē, “victory”) + λαός (laós, “people”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Nicholas
  • Ancient Greek
  • 3 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #177 among boys — 73 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1965
    Nicholas Sparks born
    American writer and novelist
  3. 1989
    Nicholas Hoult born
    English actor
  4. 1999
    Peak, #5
    25,639 babies named Nicholas — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2008
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #29.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Ancient Greek, notably born by St. Nicholas of Myre, on whom Father Christmas is based.
Namesakes
  • Nicholas Hoult · English actor, born 1989
  • Nicholas Sparks · American writer and novelist, born 1965
  • Nicholas Murray Butler · American philosopher, diplomat, and educator, 1862–1947
  • Nicholas Winton · British stockbroker who saved 669 Jewish children during 1938–39, 1909–2015
  • Nicholas I of Montenegro · Prince and King of Montenegro, 1841–1921

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.