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2/22/08

NICHOLAS: WHAT'S IN A NAME?

GENDER: NICHOLAS is a predominantly male name; however, the female form, NICOLAA or NICOLE has also been popular in recent years.
PRONUNCIATION: The English name is pronounced "Nick -o Lass"; Dutch pronunciation, "Ni-claus"; and French pronunciation "Nee-ko-la". There are variations in pronunciation by country, and language. Nicole is pronounced "Nick-ole" in English.
POPULARITY: Nicholas was the 6th most popular name from 1995-2001 in the US. NICHOLAS was ranked 17 in the list of most popular baby names according the SSA (social security administration). NICKOLAS was ranked 336; NICOLAS was ranked 140; and NIKOLAS was ranked 383 in 2006. Nicole, the female version was ranked 74 in 2006. NICHOLE was ranked 945; NICOLETTE was ranked 997.
ETYMOLOGY:
Nicholas is an English translation of an original Greek name, Nikholaos. "nike" means victory and "laos" means people, together meaning "victory of the people". The feminine form is Nicolaa, or Fr. Nicole, and was a popular name in England and the Middle Ages.
VARIANTS: There are many hundreds of variants to the name Nicholas. The variations differ with each country, language, and history. Some of the more commonly used English forms of the name Nicholas are as follows. Male: Nicholas, Nikholas, Nicolas, Nikolas, Nick, Colin Female: Nicole, Nicolette, Nicolaa, Collette
European Variants Include:
Danish: Claus French: Nicolas Greek: Nickolaus, Nikolos, Niko, Nikos , Nico, Claas, Claus Italian: Niccolo, Nicoli, Nicolo Irish: Nioclas German: Nickolaus, Nikolaus, Claus, Nicolas Russian/Polish: Nikolai, Mikolaj, Kolya Slavic: Nicholai, Nicolai, Niklos, Nicholia
FAMOUS PEOPLE: Throughout history there have been many famous Nicholas' in the world.
1.Nicholas Negroponte (April 27, 1909) is an architect and a computer scientist. He is known as the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, and also known as the founder of The One Laptop per Child association (OLPC). There were many famous sculptors, architects, painters, composers, and writers who have had the name Nicholas or one of its variants. One of the most famous is Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol' (April 1, 1809 March 4, 1852) was a Russian writer born in a village in the Ukraine. He is called the "father of modern Russian realism". He wrote famous works such as "Dead Souls", "The Government Inspector", and "The Overcoat". The first great printer of Venice was Nicholas Vlasto from 1480-1500. Nicolo Paganini was born October 27, 1782 in Genoa, Italy and died in Nice, France in May 27, 1840. He was an Italian violinist, guitarist and composer. He is known to be one of the greatest violinists till date. He was rumored to have "sold his soul to the devil" for attaining his ability.
2.Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian writer political theorist.
3.Sir Nicholas Winton was born May 19, 1909. was a man from Britain who saved at least 669 Jewish children from the Nazi extermination camps. He organized the children to be transported from Prague to the UK. He paid 50 pounds per child and found families who were willing to take care of the children. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in October of 2007.
4.Arguably the most famous scientist with the name Nicholas is Nicolaus Copernicus (1550-1543). He was a Polish astronomer who advocated the heliocentric view of the universe.
5.Religious Leaders named Nicholas include St. Nicholas, aka Santa Claus was born in the year 270 in the village of Patara in Lycia which is now Turkey. At that time, it was ruled by the Greeks. He died on Dec 6, AD 342. St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on the day St. Nicholas died. Several Popes have also had the name Nicholas, including Saint Nicholas I (819-867), Pope from 858 to 867 was called Nicholas the Great; Pope Nicholas II, Nicholas III, Nicholas IV, and Nicholas V all had the name Nicholas.
6.Royalty in many countries have also had the name Nicholas. Nicholas I, a Russian Tzar (Russian: Nikolaj I), was born July 6, 1796 in Gatchina, Russia. He died March 2, 1855. He was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855. He was also the King of Poland until 1831. Some other famous names in history include: Nicholas I of Montenegro (1841-1921) the Prince of Montenegro; Nicholas II of Russia (1868-1918), who was the last tsar of Russia. He and his entire family were murdered by Bolsheviks.
7.Famous Actors with the name Nicholas, include Nicholas Cage/was born Nicholas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964 in Long Beach, CA). He has acted in recent films such as "The Wicker Man", "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" and "Ghost Rider".
8.Contemporary Political Figures such as Nicholas Sarkozy, was elected to become the next President of France on May 6, 2007. He was formerly the Minister of the Interior. Since he has become president, he has been very controversial due to the publicity of his relationship and recent marriage to model/actress Carla Bruni.
9.Nicholas Piramal India Limited is one of the most admired pharmaceutical plants in India, approved by the USFDA, the UK as well as Australia for manufacturing of pharmaceuticals.
Famous Women with the name Nicole, the female version of the name Nicholas:
1.Nicole Kidman: An actor who has won 31 Oscars and has had 48 nominations to date. She was born June 20, 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii to Australian parents. She was married to Tom Cruise and is now married to Keith Urban, and is pregnant with her first biological child. She was the highest paid female actor in 2006.
2.Nicole Camille Richie born September 21, 1981 in Berkeley, CA. She is an actress, author and singer. She is the adopted daughter of Lionel Richie. She has become famous as an actress on the reality show, "The Simple Life". Her tumultuous personal life has also made headlines.
NAMESAKES:
Nickel is also a five cent coin that we use today. The term was coined in 1754 by Swedish minerologist, Axel von Cronstedt. Nickel was shortened from the Swedish "kopparnickel" (copper-colored ore). The German word is "kupfernickel" (Kupfer: copper + Nickel: demon, goblin, rascal). The ore was called this because miners thought it looked like copper, but it was not.
BOOKS: "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nikleby by Charles Dickens
MOVIES/BOOKS: "The Notebook", a book by Nicholas Sparks, a famous contemporary writer. This book was also made into a movie. "Nicholas Winton - The Power of Good" (2002), is an international-Emmy award winning movie about Nicholas Winton, the man mentioned above who was Britain's "Schindler". He saved hundreds of Czech children from extermination by the Nazis. "All my Loved Ones" (1998) is another movie made about Nicholas Winton.
RESTAURANTS: Many Greek, Spanish and American restaurants are named after St. Nicholas. STORMS: Nicholas was a long-lived tropical storm in October-November 2003 Atlantic Hurricane Season. It never became a tropical cyclone and it caused minimal damage. TV STATION: Nickelodeon is the name of a motion picture theatre, from nickel, a five-cent coin and "odeon" as in "oideion" a building for musical performances. Nickelodeon was started in 1888.
The name Nicholas has not changed considerably from its first form. Nicholas may have become popular due to the popularity of St. Nicholas, better known as Santa Claus. This may also been a reason why it has remained the same throughout the ages. Saint Nick/Santa Claus has now permeated through all cultures of the world, and little children across the world look forward to Jolly St. Nick and the gifts he brings every year.

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