Mykolai
A Ukrainian form of Mikołaj, and most Poles have never met one: only 167 carry it, all male and nearly all born in the last few years. The name is Greek at root, "victory of the people", and the register first listed it only recently.
Mykolai Pronunciation
Mykolai is pronounced mih-ko-LAH-ee (/mɨkɔˈlai/).
What Mykolai means
Where Mykolai comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
The name Mykolai comes from the Greek Nikolaos, built from nikē, meaning victory, and laos, meaning people. Together they give the short meaning the name still carries: victory of the people. Polish readers will recognize its close variant, Mikołaj, the form that appears on church calendars and in school registers.
In Ukrainian culture the name leads straight to Saint Nicholas, known there as Mykola, the bishop whose feast falls on December 6. He is the gift-bringer. Mykolai is the fuller, more formal shape of that same name, standing nearer to the Greek than the everyday Mykola does.
The victory in Mykolai is real etymology rather than a meaning attached long afterward. The laos, the people, sits plainly in its second half.
On an imieniny list for early December, a boy named Mykolai shares his name-day with every Polish Mikołaj. A teacher reading the register hears the Greek victory inside both.
How many people are named Mykolai
1 in 127821 men in Poland is named Mykolai. 167 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2490 among male names.
Mykolai's popularity over time
3 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #1322 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2021.
Mykolai as a middle name
Mykolai is a first name for 167 men in Poland and a middle name for another 2, a 99/1 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 8370th, between Mychajło (2) and Mykolay (2).
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#8368 Muzaffar2
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#8369 Mychajło2
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#8370 Mykolai2
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#8371 Mykolay2
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#8372 Myoung2