Niklaus is a masculine Slavic

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

and

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. Niklaus comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word ''nikolaos'' (νικόλαος), meaning victory of the people. It’s a variant of the likewise Greek-origin given name

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

. The traditional short forms of this name are Nik and

Klaus Klaus is a German, Dutch and Scandinavian given name and surname. It originated as a short form of Nikolaus, a German form of the Greek given name Nicholas. Notable persons whose family name is Klaus * Billy Klaus (1928–2006), American baseba ...

, being primarily used in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Notable people with the name include the following:

Given name

Niklaus Aeschbacher Niklaus Aeschbacher (30 April 1917 – 30 November 1995) was a Swiss composer and conductor. Born in Trogen in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden as the son of Carl Aeschbacher, he studied music in Zürich and Berlin. After a post as conductor ...

(1917 – 1995), Swiss composer and conductor * Niklaus Bütler (1786–1854), Swiss painter *

Niklaus Dachselhofer Niklaus Dachselhofer (18 November 1595 – 12 February 1670, sometimes given as ''"Daxelhofer"'') was a Swiss politician in Bern. He became a member of the canton's Grand Council in 1628 and one year later also a member of the city council ...

(1595 – 1670), Swiss politician *

Niklaus Franz von Bachmann Niklaus Leodegar Franz Ignaz von Bachmann (Näfels, 27 March 1740 – Näfels, 11 February 1831), was a Swiss general who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Family and early life He was born in an aristocratic Swiss family of long-standing military ...

(1740 – 1831), Swiss general *

Niklaus Friedrich von Steiger Niklaus Friedrich von Steiger (17 May 1729 – 3 December 1799) was a Swiss politician. From 1787 to 1798 he was elected Schultheiss (chief magistrate) of Bern, Switzerland. He was the leader of the political faction that resisted the French i ...

(1729 – 1799), Swiss politician *

Niklaus Gerber Niklaus Gerber (8 June 1850 – 9 February 1914) was a Swiss dairy chemist and industrialist. He was born in 1850 in Thun, Switzerland. He attended the University of Bern and University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Un ...

(1850 – 1914), Swiss dairy chemist *

Niklaus Grunwald Niklaus J. Grünwald is a biologist and plant pathologist born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela of German and Swiss ancestry. He is currently a research scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, a Professor (Courtesy) in the Depart ...

, American biologist and plant pathologist *

Niklaus Brantschen Niklaus Brantschen (born 25 October 1937 in Randa, Valais) is a Swiss Jesuit, Zen master of the White Plum Sangha line and founder of the Lassalle-Institute within the Lassalle-House in Bad Schönbrunn/Zug, Canton of Zug. He is co-initiator of ...

(born 1937), Swiss Jesuit, Zen master *

Niklaus Leuenberger thumb Niklaus Leuenberger (c. July 17, 1615 – executed 6 September, 1653 Bern) was one of the leaders of the rural rebellion that led to the Swiss peasant war of 1653 in Switzerland. He was nicknamed the "King of the Peasants" Leuenberger wa ...

(1615 – 1653), Swiss peasant *

Niklaus Manuel Deutsch Niklaus Manuel Deutsch (''Niklaus Manuel'', c. 1484 – 28 April 1530), of Bern, was a Swiss artist, writer, mercenary and Reformed politician. Biography Niklaus was most likely the son of Emanuel Aleman (or Alleman), a pharmacist whose own fat ...

(c. 1484 – 1530), Swiss artist *

Niklaus Meienberg Niklaus Meienberg (11 May 1940 – 22 September 1993) was a Swiss writer and investigative journalist. Meienberg lived in Zürich and published 14 books in his lifetime. His works were primarily about recent Swiss history. His texts are used ...

(1940 – 1993), Swiss writer and investigative journalist *

Niklaus Niggeler Niklaus Niggeler (3 May 1817, in Grossaffoltern – 26 May 1872) was a Swiss politician from the canton of Bern The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 ca ...

(1817 – 1872), Swiss politician * Niklaus Pfluger (born 1958), Swiss Catholic priest *

Niklaus Riggenbach Niklaus Riggenbach (21 May 1817 – 25 July 1899) was the inventor of the Riggenbach rack system and the counter-pressure brake. He was also an engineer and locomotive builder. Niklaus Riggenbach, from Rünenberg, Basel-Landschaft, Sw ...

(1817 – 1899), Swiss inventor, engineer and locomotive builder *

Niklaus Schilling Niklaus Schilling (23 April 1944 – 6 May 2016) was a Swiss film director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. He directed 13 films between 1967 and 1996. His 1977 film ''The Expulsion from Paradise'' was entered into the 27th Berlin Inte ...

(1944 – 2016), Swiss film director, cinematographer, and screenwriter *

Niklaus Schurtenberger Niklaus Schurtenberger (born 7 February 1968) is a Swiss equestrian who competes in the sport of show jumping. He won the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in team jumping following the disqualification of Norwegian rider Tony André Hanse ...

(born 1968), Swiss equestrian * Niklaus Stump (1920 – 2005), Swiss cross-country and Nordic combined skier *

Niklaus Troxler Niklaus Troxler (born May 1, 1947) is a Swiss graphic designer. He was the organizer of the Willisau Jazz Festival from 1975 to 2009. Biography Troxler studied graphic design at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. He worked as an ...

(born 1947), Swiss graphic designer * Niklaus Weckmann (c. 1481-1526), German sculptor *

Niklaus Wirth Niklaus Emil Wirth (born 15 February 1934) is a Swiss computer scientist. He has designed several programming languages, including Pascal (programming language), Pascal, and pioneered several classic topics in software engineering. In 1984, he w ...

(born 1934), Swiss computer scientist

Middle name

Franz Niklaus König Franz Niklaus König (1765–1832) was a Swiss painter of genre art and portraits. After studying under Tiberius and Marquard Wocher, Sigmund Freudenberger and Balthasar Anton Dunker, he made a name for himself through dress pictures, rural genr ...

(1765–1832), Swiss painter

Surname

André Niklaus André Niklaus (born 30 August 1981 in Berlin) is a German decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word " pentathlon", from Gre ...

(born 1981), German decathlete * Stephan Niklaus (born 1958), Swiss decathlete * Mandy Niklaus (born 1956), East German fencer

Fictional characters

* Brad Niklaus from '' Sunset Beach'' *Niklaus “Klaus” Mikaelson from ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

'' and '' The Originals''

Given name

Middle name

Surname

Fictional characters

See also