Nicolai is a Scandinavian and Russian form of Nicholas, from the Greek Nikolaos, which means "victory of the people"; the name spread through Europe thanks to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the fourth century bishop behind the figure of Santa Claus. The spelling with a c is common in Denmark and Norway, while Nikolai is the usual Russian transliteration. In the United States Nicolai ranked number 2971 in 2000, peaked at number 1883 in 2015 and stood at number 2590 in 2025 with 51 boys.