Nikolaus
The German form of Mikołaj, from the Greek for "victory of the people". Barely 80 men in Poland carry it, so meeting one would stick with you.
Nikolaus Pronunciation
Nikolaus is pronounced nyee-ko-LAH-oos (/ɲikɔˈlaus/).
What Nikolaus means
Where Nikolaus comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Nikolaus comes from the Greek Nikolaos, built from nike, victory, and laos, the people. So the short meaning reads plainly: victory of the people. The German-speaking world took the name in early, tied it to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the fourth-century bishop whose feast falls on 6 December. In Poland the same saint gives us Mikołaj, the variant every child knows from Mikołajki.
Nikolaus kept its German coat while Mikołaj wore the Polish one.
A boy named Nikolaus in a Polish class register sits between the Mikołajs and the Miłoszes, close kin to both. The Greek root shows through if you break the name in two. Nike gave her name to victory itself in the old myths. Laos survives in the word laity, the ordinary people set apart from clergy. Both halves are still legible.
The saint made the name travel. Nicholas of Myra was remembered for giving gold in secret, and that story crossed Europe under many spellings. Nikolaus is one. Mikołaj is another, and its name-day gifts on 6 December keep the old bishop's habit alive. The meaning underneath stays fixed: victory of the people.
How many people are named Nikolaus
1 in 263533 men in Poland is named Nikolaus. 81 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #3944 among male names.
Nikolaus's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Nikolaus as a middle name
Nikolaus is a first name for 81 men in Poland and a middle name for another 64, a 56/44 split, almost evenly. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 910th, between Maxwell (64) and Quang (64).
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#908 Maximiliano64
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#909 Maxwell64
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#910 Nikolaus64
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#911 Quang64
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#912 Selim64