por Nico- el Mar Sep 18, 2007 4:14 pm
The male given name Nicholas is derived from the Greek Νικόλαος, Nikolaos, a combination of the words for "victory" (nikē) and "people" (laos). The name can be understood to mean victory of the people some say it means "power of the people". The name became popular through Saint Nicholas of Myra, the inspiration for Father Christmas (known as Santa Claus in the USA). The normal English version of spelling "Nicholas", using an "h", is derived from one way of transliterating the diacritic on the 'o' of the original Greek word Νικόλαος. It is claimed to have first come into use in the 12th century and to have been firmly established by the time of the Reformation. Nonetheless, the spelling "Nicolas" without "h" is occasionally found in English speaking countries (e.g. Nicolas Cage). In 2006, Nicholas was the 17th most common male name in the USA, comprising roughly 0.7151% of the population, or 15,414 people. It is decreasing in popularity, from a high in 1997, when 27,248 US males were named Nicholas. That year was the most popular year for Nicholas since 1880, when US records began for given names.