Nicholas, Nickolas, Nikolas or Nicolas is a male given name, derived from the Greek name Îικόλαος (Nikolaos), a compound of νίκη nikÄ“ 'victory' and λαός; laos 'people', that is, victor of the people. The name became popular through Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia, the inspiration for Santa Claus.
Nico- means "victory" in Greek, and laos means "people" or, more specifically, "the laity". Hence they take the word to mean "lay conquerors" or "conquerors of the lay people". However, "Nicolaitan" (Greek: Νικολαϊτῶν; Νικολαΐτης) is the name ostensibly given to followers of the heretic Nicolas (Greek: Νικόλαος).