Where does “Nicholas” come from?
Nicholas comes from Middle English Nicholas, from Old French Nicholas, from Latin Nicolaus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος, composed of νίκη meaning victory and λαός meaning people.
Ancestry of “Nicholas”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | Nicholas | associated with Saint Nicholas of Myra |
| 2 | Old French | Nicholas | — |
| 3 | Latin | Nīcolāus | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | Νικόλαος | Nicolas |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | λᾱός | people; men; the people |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | lāwós | people, crowd |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | leh₂wos | people |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leh₂- | to bark, howl; to be concealed |