Nicola (name) explained

Nicola
Meaning:	Victory
Gender:	Unisex

Nicola or Nichola is a Latinised version of the Greek personal name Nikolaos (Νικόλαος), derived from the nikē meaning "victory", and laos meaning "people", therefore implying the meaning "victory of the people". Nicola is both a male and female name, depending on cultural norms.

Nicola was a frequently given male personal name among the traditional Italian nobility, and was used often in the Middle Ages.^[1] The spelling Nikola is widely used in Slavic language speaking areas. The English form of the same name is Nicholas, with Nicolas common in French and Spanish-speaking countries, and Nicolau in Portuguese-speaking countries.

Nicola has been used as a female name since at least 1150 (the birth date of Lady Nicola de la Haie) and continues as a contemporary female name in Germany, the British Isles and Scandinavia. Less commonly, the name is spelled "Nichola" or "Nickola". The female form of Nicola in Italian is Nicoletta. Other forms of the female name in other languages include Nicole and Nicolette in French, Nikolett or Nikoletta in Hungarian, Νικολέττα or Νίκη in Greek.

Name days

21 March and 10 September (Hungary)
29 August (Slovakia)
3 September (United Kingdom)
20 November (Czech Republic)
6 December, in line with Saint Nicholas (Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia)
19 December, Saint Nikola (North Macedonia, Serbia)

Given name: Nicola

A–L

Nicola Abbagnano (1901–1990), Italian existential philosopher
Nicola Adams (born 1982), English boxer
Nicola Amoruso (born 1974), Italian football player
Nicola Asuni (born 1973), Italian sprinter
Nicola Barr (born 1996), Australian rules footballer
Nicola Benedetti (born 1987), Scottish classic violinist
Nicola Berti (born 1967), Italian football player
Nicola Best, British statistician
Nicola Blackwood-Bate (born 1979), British politician
Nicola Boem (born 1989), Italian road cyclist
Nicola Bolger (born 1993), Australian football player
Nicola Bombacci (1879–1945), Italian Marxist revolutionary
Nicola Brogan, Northern Irish politician
Nicola Brown (disambiguation), several people
Nicola Calipari (1953–2005), Italian military intelligence officer with the rank of major general
Nicola I. Campbell, Indigenous Canadian author, poet, and educator
Nicola Conte, Italian DJ and producer
Nicola Coughlan (born 1987), Irish actress
Nicola Di Bari (born 1940), Italian singer-songwriter
Nicola Docherty (born 1992), Scottish footballer
Nicola Edgington (born 1980), British murderer
Nicola Fairbrother (born 1970), British judoka
Nicola Filippo (born 1957), American artist
Nicola Glencross (born 1989), Scottish professional wrestler
Nicola Gobbo, Australian lawyer
Nicola Griffith (born 1960), British author
Nicola de la Haie (died 1230), English landowner and military administrator
Nicola Heywood-Thomas (1955–2023), Welsh broadcaster and journalist
Nicola Jackson (born 1984), British swimmer
Nicola Jackson (artist) (born 1960), New Zealand artist
Nicola King, fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale
Nicola Larini (born 1964), racing driver
Nicola Legrottaglie (born 1976), Italian football player
Nicola Luisotti (born 1961), Italian musician

M–Z

Nicola Mendelsohn (born 1971), British advertising executive
Nicola McEwen, FRSE professor of territorial politics at the University of Edinburgh, Centre on Constitutional Change.
Nicola Pagett (1945–2021), English actress
Nicola Peltz (born 1995), American actress
Nicola Philippaerts (born 1993), Belgian show jumping rider
Nicola Pierce (born 1969), Irish writer and ghost writer
Nicola Piovani (born 1946), classical musician
Nicola Pisano (1220s–1284), Italian sculptor
Nicola Pozzi (born 1986), Italian football player
Nicola Ann Raphael (1985–2001), Scottish schoolgirl who committed suicide
Nicola Rauti (born 2000), Italian football player
Nicola Rescigno (1916–2008), Italian-American opera conductor
Nicola Richards (born 1994), British politician
Nicola Rizzoli (born 1971), Italian football referee
Nicola Roberts (born 1985), British popstar, member of Girls Aloud
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (1920–1991), Russian-Italian operatic bass
Nicola Rubinstein, fictional character on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street
Nicola Sacco (1891–1927), Italian-American anarchist ("Sacco and Vanzetti")
Nicola Shulman (born 1960), British biographer
Nicola Smith (born 1949), English bridge player
Nicola Smith (footballer) (born 1980), New Zealand football player
Nicola Sturgeon (born 1970), Former Leader of the SNP and the former First Minister of Scotland between 2014 and 2023
Nicola Tappenden (born 1982), British glamour model
Nicola Walker (born 1970), British actress
Nicola Zalewski (born 2002), Polish football player
Nicola (Okanagan leader) (1780/85 – ~1865), First Nations political figure in the fur trade era of British Columbia, Canada

Given name: Nichola

Nichola (fool) (fl. 1560–1570), fool or jester to Mary, Queen of Scots
Nichola Beck, English badminton player
Nichola Bruce (born 1953), British film director, cinematographer, screenwriter, and artist
Nichola Burley (born 1986), British actress
Nichola Fryday (born 1995), Irish rugby player
Nichola Goddard (1980–2006), Canadian soldier
Nichola Gutgold (born 1964), American scholar and academic
Nichola Holt, contestant on Series 1 of the British TV show Big Brother
Nichola Hope, one of the British twin artists Nichola and Sarah Hope
Nichola Kane, broadcast journalist and producer working in Scotland
Nichola Mallon (born 1979), Northern Irish politician
Nichola McAuliffe (born 1955), British television and stage actress and writer
Nichola Pease (born 1961), British fund manager
Nichola Raihani, British psychologist, professor at University College London
Nichola Simpson (born 1956), British archer
Nichola Theobald, British film, television and voice-over actress, television presenter and fashion model

Surname

Carlos Nicola (born 1973), Uruguayan former footballer
Davide Nicola (born 1973), Italian football manager and retired player
Enrico De Nicola (1877–1959), Italian jurist, journalist, politician and provisional Head of State of republican Italy from 1946 to 1948
Isaac Nicola (1916–1997), Cuban guitarist
James C. Nicola, American theatre director
Lewis Nicola (1717–1807), Irish-American military officer during the American Revolutionary War, author of the Newburgh letter
Marcelo Nicola (born 1971), Argentine-Italian basketball coach and retired player

Notes and References

The Golden Legend or Lives of the Saints, compiled by Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, 1275. First edition published 1470.