🔼The name Nicolas: Summary
- Meaning
- Victor Over The People
- Etymology
- From (1) the noun νικη (nike), victory, and (2) the noun λαος (laos), [common] people.
🔼The name Nicolas in the Bible
The name Nicolas occurs only once in the Bible. He was from Antioch, a proselyte (a convert to Judaism) and was chosen together with six others to distribute food more fairly among the early Christian congregation in Jerusalem (Acts 6:5). Two more famous members of this group of seven were Stephen and Philip.
The name Nicolas is also connected to the sect of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:6 and 2:15), which was based either on the preachings of a man named Nicolas, or it propagated ideas that were in tune with the meaning of the name Nicolas.
🔼Etymology of the name Nicolas
The name Nicolas consists of two elements. The first part comes from the familiar noun νικη (nike), meaning victory:
νικη
The noun νικη (nike) means victory. It comes with the verb νικαω (nikao), to be victorious, and appears to be related to the verb νικμαω (nikmao) or λικμαω (likmao), to beat to pulver.
The second part of the name Nicolas comes from the noun λαος (laos), meaning (common) people:
λαος
The noun λαος (laos) means people and is one of a few words to do so. What precisely distinguishes this word from the others is hard to say — it mostly implies the common masses at large, but so do the others — but it bears a remarkable resemblance to the adjective ιλαος (hilaos), to be propitious, gracious or kindly favored toward men, as well as the noun λαας (laas), stone (or record keepers), and λεον (leon), lion, which helps to explain the many proverbial lions in ancient texts. That word for lion in turn looks like it has to do with the adverb λεως (leos), wholly or entirely, which is turn relates to the adverb λιαν (lian), very, very much or greatly, noun ληις (leis), booty or spoil, and the noun lucrum, profit, from which derives the adjective lucrative.
🔼Nicolas meaning
For a meaning of the name Nicolas, both NOBSE Study Bible Name List and Spiros Zodhiates (The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary) read Victor Over The People. Some commentators see a link between this name and the name Balaam, which may mean Destroyer Of The People and may denote a destructive demagogue (Revelation 2:14).