Nicol

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 19 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Nicol is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name150K records spelled Nicol32 spellings in the group

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

  Languages: English, German, Dutch

  Also written Nicoel, Nícol, Nicöl, Nicól, Nicôl

• Czech given name34K records spelled Nicol4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Peru

  Languages: Czech, Polish, Slovak

  Also written Ňicol

• French given name30K records spelled Nicol9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Spain, United States, Canada

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Nícol, Ñicol, Nicöl, Nïćöĺ, Nicōl

• Belarusian given name7.7K records spelled Nicol2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Peru, United States, Italy, Bolivia

  Also written Nicol'

• Italian given name3.2K records spelled Nicol6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Italy, United States, Philippines, Spain

  Also written Nicòl, Nìcol, Nícol, Nǐcol, Nicöl

62 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.

Other recorded senses●

Nicol is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Short form of Nicolas, from Greek nikē + laos, 'victory of the people'.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Short form of Nicolas; from Gk. Nikolaos 'victory of the people'.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• Common medieval vernacular form of Nicholas, current until a relatively late period in Scotland, and now being revived in more general use. Modern use as a given name may owe something to the character Bailie Nicol Jarvie in Sir Walter Scott’s novel Rob Roy. Variants: Nicoll, Nichol(l).

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• from a Scottish vernacular form of Nicholas.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In French, voir Nicole

  as a name·Dictionnaire des noms de famille du Canada français. Anthroponymie et généalogie. 2e édition

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.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 65 years between 1956–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Nicol Hugh Bairdb. 1796GBBritish surveyor
• Nicol Alexander Dalzellb. 1817GBScottish botanist (1817-1878)
• Andrew Thorneb. 1885GBnot in their usual nameBritish Army general (1885–1970)
• Nicol Williamsonb. 1936GBBritish actor (1936–2011)
• Nicol Stephenb. 1960GBBritish politician (born 1960)
• Nicol Paoneb. 1971USAmerican actress
• Nicol Pitrob. 1975DEGerman badminton player
• Nicol Davidb. 1983MYMalaysian squash player
• Nicol Čupkováb. 1992SKSlovak ice hockey player
• Nicol Delagob. 1996ITItalian alpine skier

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).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 613 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Nicol?

We estimate roughly 14 thousand people bear Nicol (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Nicol have the most bearers?

Nicol is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled nicol.

Where is Nicol most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Nicol is densest in the Czechia — about 1 in 1.8 thousand people — even though Argentina holds more of our records for it.

How common is Nicol compared with other names?

In Argentina, Nicol is the 571st most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Nicol a male or female name?

Nicol is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Nicol mean?

Recorded meaning: Abbreviation of Nicholas, a Greek name meaning ‘victory of the people’; in use from the 12th century.