Niels is a male given name, equivalent to

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

, which is common in Denmark, Belgium, Norway (formerly) and the Netherlands. The Norwegian and Swedish variant is Nils. The name is a developed short form of Nicholas or Greek Nikolaos, after

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

. Its pet form is Nisse, and female variants are Nielsine, Nielsina, and Nielsa. Notable people with the name include: * Niels, King of Denmark (1065–1134) * Niels, Count of Halland (died 1218) * Niels Aagaard (1612–1657), Danish poet * Niels Aall (1769–1854), Norwegian businessman and politician * Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829), Norwegian mathematician * Niels Arestrup (1949–2024), French-Danish actor and director * Niels Viggo Bentzon (1919–2000), Danish composer and pianist *

Niels Bohr Niels Henrik David Bohr (, ; ; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and old quantum theory, quantum theory, for which he received the No ...

(1885–1962), Danish physicist and Nobel Prize recipient * Niels Busk (born 1942), Danish politician * Niels Ebbesen (died 1340), Danish squire and national hero * Niels Nikolaus Falck (1784–1850), Danish jurist and historian * Niels Feijen (born 1977), Dutch pool player * Niels Ferguson (born 1965), Dutch cryptographer * Niels Friis (died 1508), Roman Catholic prelate and bishop of Viborg, succeeding Niels Glob * Niels Gade (1817–1890), Danish musician * Niels Giffey (born 1991), German basketball player * Niels Glob, Roman Catholic prelate and bishop of Viborg (1478–1498) * Niels Hansen Jacobsen (1861–1941), Danish sculptor * Niels Helveg Petersen (1939–2017), Danish politician * Niels Hemmingsen (1513–1600), Danish theologian * Niels Hintermann (born 1995), Swiss alpine ski racer * Niels Holst-Sørensen (1922–2023), Danish athlete and general * Niels Lauritz Høyen (1798–1870), Danish art historian * Niels Kaj Jerne (1911–1994), Danish immunologist and Nobel Prize recipient * Niels Jonsson Stromberg af Clastorp (1646–1723), Swedish soldier and politician * Niels Juel (1629–1697), Danish admiral * Niels Kaas (1535–1594), Danish politician * Niels Christian Kaldau (born 1974), Danish badminton player * Niels Krabbe (born 1951), Danish ornithologist * Niels Lan Doky (born 1963), Danish jazz pianist * Niels de Langen (born 1998), Dutch para-alpine skier * Niels Meyn (1891–1957), Danish author * Niels Neergaard (1854–1936), Danish historian and politician * Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (1946–2005), Danish jazz bassist * Niels Ryberg Finsen (1860–1904), Danish physician and Nobel Prize recipient * Niels Schneider (born 1987), Canadian actor *Niels Steensen, also known as Nicolas Steno (1638–1686), Danish scientist and Catholic bishop * Niels Treschow (1751–1833), Norwegian philosopher and politician * Niels van den Berge (born 1984), Dutch politician * Niels van der Zwan (born 1967), Dutch rower * Niels van Steenis (born 1969), Dutch rower

See also