Nicolai

Attested across 13 languages in the etymology graph.

Nicolai is one spelling over 6 language communities, and the dictionaries record it differently in 3 of them. Each row is what a source recorded for that language, beside the share of this name’s records the language holds. No single row is the name’s meaning.

• Danish27%

  a male given name from Latin Nīcolāī (genitive) or Russian Никола́й (Nikoláj), of traditionally popular usage, equivalent to English Nicholas; the use of the genitive in Latin is common in church names

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• German23%

  Patronymic from Latin genitive Nicolai; demonstrates genitive -i / -y variation.

  as a name·Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 3: Morphologie der Familiennamen

  Patronym im lat. Genitiv auf -i; Belegzahl 2465. Morphologisch: Latinisierung des Rufnamens mit Genitivendung -i.

  as a name·Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 3: Morphologie der Familiennamen

  Patronymisch aus dem lat. Genitiv zu Nikolaus/Nicolaus; -i-Form, daneben -lay/-s. Bearer: 2+0.

  as a name·Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 3: Morphologie der Familiennamen

• English12%

  No dictionary in our sources glosses Nicolai in English.

• Norwegian7.5%

  a male given name derived from Nicolaus, variant of Nikolai

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• Hebrew7.0%

  No dictionary in our sources glosses Nicolai in Hebrew.

• Spanish6.4%

  No dictionary in our sources glosses Nicolai in Spanish.

The share is ours — how much of this name’s records each language holds. The sense beside it is the source’s, quoted and credited, including where it names a gender. We do not publish a gender of our own per language: our records carry one figure for the spelling as a whole.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Nicolai, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Mikhail
• Dominik
• Dimitri
• Maxim
• Tesla
• Lukas
• Mathias
• Dominic
• Alexei
• Maximilian
• Ilya
• Stefan

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Nicolai is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• German given name8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Germany, United States, Philippines, United Kingdom

  Languages: German, English, Dutch

  Also written Nicolaï

• Romanian given name3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Moldova, Romania, United States, Italy

  Also written Nicolaï, Nicôlai

• Spanish given name8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Philippines, Peru, United States

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Nicolaï, Nicolaí, Nicolái, Nicolài, Nicólaí

• Italian given name4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Italy, Moldova, United States, Romania

  Also written Nicolaï, Nïçolaï, Nicôlai

• a separate name3 spellings in the group

  Also written Nicolai͏̈, Nicolaï

• Indonesian given name3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Philippines, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Nicolaï

• a separate given name3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Norway, United States, Russia, Sweden

  Also written Nicolaï, Nicôlai

51 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Nicolai is also recorded in one other lexicon, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Italian, Latinate (humanistic) patronymic from Nicholas.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Nicolai Wergelandb. 1780NOFather of the Constitution of Norway (1780-1848)
• Thorvald Nicolai Thieleb. 1838DKDanish astronomer (1838–1910)
• Nicolai Hartmannb. 1882DEGerman philosopher (1882–1950)
• Nikolay Moiseyevb. 1902RUnot in their usual nameRussian astronomer (1902–1955)
• Gottfried Lessingb. 1914RUnot in their usual nameGerman diplomat (1914–1979)
• Nicolai Cleve Brochb. 1975NONorwegian actor
• Nicolai Tegelerb. 1978DEGerman actor
• Nicolai Jørgensenb. 1991DKDanish association football player (1991-)
• Nicolai Boilesenb. 1992DKDanish footballer
• Nicolai Brock-Madsenb. 1993DKDanish footballer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

80 registers and reference works attest this spelling, across 34 countries.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Where does the name Nicolai come from?

Patronymic from Latin genitive Nicolai; demonstrates genitive -i / -y variation. Recorded by Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 3: Morphologie der Familiennamen.

What are other forms of the name Nicolai?

In the etymology graph, Nicolas, Nicholas and Nick are forms of the same name in other languages.

How do you pronounce Nicolai?

In Danish /ˈneɡ̊olaɪ̯/ (Wiktionary).

Is Nicolai a male or female name?

Nicolai is a male name. National registers that list it by sex list it as male: Norway (SSB), Denmark (Danmarks Statistik), United States (Census Bureau, 2020) and Poland (dane.gov.pl, 2026), among others.

What does the name Nicolai mean?

In Danish, a male given name from Latin Nīcolāī (genitive) or Russian Никола́й (Nikoláj), of traditionally popular usage, equivalent to English Nicholas; the use of the genitive in Latin is common in church name…

In which country does Nicolai have the most bearers?

In Moldova, the national register counted about 33 thousand people named Nicolai, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled nicolai.

Where is Nicolai most common?

Nicolai is densest in Moldova, where the national register counts about 1 in 103 people carrying it.

How common is the name Nicolai?

In Moldova, the national register counted 32,823 people named Nicolai, about 1 in 103 residents.

How common is Nicolai compared with other names?

In Moldova, Nicolai is the 179th most common given name of 1,433 given names recorded there.