Nicholas
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Ancient Greek, notably born by St. Nicholas of Myre, on whom Father Christmas is based. From Middle English Nicholas, from Old French Nicholas, from Latin Nīcolāus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος (Nikólaos), from νίκη (níkē, “victory”) + λαός (laós, “people”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Nicholas (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Nicholas has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2020. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 24 |
| 1999 | 22 |
| 2000 | 22 |
| 2001 | 34 |
| 2002 | 29 |
| 2003 | 26 |
| 2004 | 31 |
| 2005 | 23 |
| 2006 | 28 |
| 2007 | 23 |
| 2008 | 31 |
| 2009 | 26 |
| 2010 | 25 |
| 2011 | 25 |
| 2012 | 32 |
| 2013 | 30 |
| 2014 | 37 |
| 2015 | 56 |
| 2016 | 78 |
| 2017 | 66 |
| 2018 | 81 |
| 2019 | 83 |
| 2020 | 101 |
| 2021 | 87 |
| 2022 | 73 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 705 |
| 2000 | 742 |
| 2001 | 785 |
| 2002 | 839 |
| 2003 | 871 |
| 2004 | 909 |
| 2005 | 933 |
| 2006 | 949 |
| 2007 | 986 |
| 2008 | 1,049 |
| 2009 | 1,098 |
| 2010 | 1,150 |
| 2011 | 1,191 |
| 2012 | 1,238 |
| 2013 | 1,277 |
| 2014 | 1,322 |
| 2015 | 1,399 |
| 2016 | 1,484 |
| 2017 | 1,572 |
| 2018 | 1,666 |
| 2019 | 1,767 |
| 2020 | 1,888 |
Nicholas in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Nicholas.Hi! My name is Nicholas.
- Nicholas har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Nicholas has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Jag ska fika med Nicholas i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Nicholas this afternoon.
- Nicholas mamma är lärare.Nicholas's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Nicholas mamma is Nicholas's mum. Because Nicholas already ends in s, nothing is added.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Nicholas
How do you pronounce Nicholas in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Nicholas in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Nicholas mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Ancient Greek, notably born by St. Nicholas of Myre, on whom Father Christmas is based. From Middle English Nicholas, from Old French Nicholas, from Latin Nīcolāus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος (Nikólaos), from νίκη (níkē, “victory”) + λαός (laós, “people”).
How popular is Nicholas in Sweden?
73 babies were named Nicholas in 2022. In 2020, 1,888 people in Sweden had Nicholas as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2020 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.