Nikola () is a

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 f ...

which, like

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 ...

, is a version of the Greek '' Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος) and it means "the winner of the people". It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

), while in West Slavic countries (

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

) it is primarily found as a feminine given name. There is a wide variety of male diminutives of the name, examples including: Niko, Nikolica, Nidžo, Nikolče, Nikša, Nikica, Nikulitsa, Nino, Kole, Kolyo, Kolyu. The spelling with a K, ''Nikola'', usually indicates Slavic origin, while '' Nicola'' usually indicates Italian origin.

Statistics

*Serbia: male name. 5th most popular in 2011, 1st in 2001, 1st in 1991, 5th in 1981, 9th pre-1940. *Croatia: male name. 32,304 (2011), 26,986 (2021) *Bosnia and Herzegovina: male name. *Bulgaria: male name. * North Macedonia: male name. *Czech Republic: 22,567 females and 740 males (2002). *Poland: female name. *Slovakia: female name. *Slovenia: male name. 2003 males and female name

People with the name

Arts

* Nikola Avramov, Bulgarian painter * Nikola Hajdin, President of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts * Nikola Kastner (born 1983), German actress * Nikola Kojo, Serbian actor * Nikola Martinovski, Macedonian painter * Nikola Nešković, Serbian painter * Nikola Vaptsarov, Bulgarian poet

Music

* Nikola Mijailović (singer), Serbian opera singer * Nikola Resanovic, Serbian-American composer * Nikola Šarčević, Swedish thrash rock musician * Nikola Kołodziejczyk, Polish jazz pianist, composer and arranger

Politics

* Vlgdrag or monk Nikola (d. 1327), Serbian nobleman * Nikola Altomanović (fl. 1371–73), Serbian prince * Nikola Skobaljić (fl. 1454), Serbian general * Nikola Frankopan, Croatian ban * Nikola IV Zrinski, Croatian-Hungarian ban and hero of Siege of Szigetvár * Nicholas I of Montenegro, King of Montenegro * Prince Nikola of Yugoslavia (1928–1954), Serbian prince * Nikola, Crown Prince of Montenegro (born 1944), Montenegrin prince * Nikola Gruevski, Macedonian Prime minister * Nikola Jorgic, Bosnian Serb soldier * Nikola Karev, Macedonian revolutionary * Nikola Kavaja, Serbian anti-communists * Nikola Kljusev, Macedonian politician * Nikola Ljubičić, Serbian politician *

Nikola Mandić Nikola Mandić (; 20 January 1869 – 7 June 1945) was a Croatian politician and one of the leading political figures in Bosnia and Herzegovina under Austrian-Hungarian rule. He also served as a Prime Minister of the Independent State of Croati ...

, Croatian politician * Nikola Milošević (politician), Serbian intellectual * Nikola Mushanov, Bulgarian politician * Nikola Pašić, Serbian politician and diplomat * Nikola Petkov, Bulgarian politician * Nikola Šećeroski, Serbian politician * Nikola Špirić, Bosnian Serb politician * Nikola Uzunović, Serbian politician * Nikola Vitov Gučetić, Ragusian statesman * Nikola Zhekov, Bulgarian military

Science

* Nikola Moravčević, Serbian academic * Nikola Obreshkov, Bulgarian mathematician *

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

, Serbian-American inventor and mechanical engineer * Nikola Moushmov, Bulgarian historian

Sports

* Nikola Brejchová, Czech athlete * Nikola Dragović, Serbian basketball player * Nikola Grbić, Serbian volleyball player * Nikola Jakšić, Serbian water polo player, Olympic champion * Nikola Jerkan, Croatian footballer *

Nikola Jokić Nikola Jokić ( ; sr-Cyrl, Никола Јокић ; born February 19, 1995) is a Serbian professional basketball player who is a Center (basketball), center for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the ...

, Serbian basketball player * Nikola Jovanović, Montenegrin footballer * Nikola Jović, Serbian basketball player * Nikola Jovović, Serbian volleyball player * Nikola Jurčević, Croatian footballer * Nikola Kalinić, Serbian basketball player * Nikola Karabatić, French team handball player * Nikola Katić, Croatian football player * Nikola Kotkov, Bulgarian footballer * Nikola Kovachev, Bulgarian footballer * Nikola Kovačević, Serbian volleyball player * Niko Kranjčar, Croatian footballer * Nikola Kuljača, Serbian waterpolo goalkeeper * Nikola Lazetić, Serbian footballer * Nikola Lončar, Serbian basketball player * Nikola Maraš, Serbian footballer * Nikola Mijailović, Serbian footballer * Nikola Milojević, Serbian football goalkeeper * Nikola Milošević, Serbian football midfielder * Nikola Mirotić, Spanish basketball player of Montenegrin descent * Nikola Nikezić, Montenegrin footballer * Nikola Nikić, Bosnian Serb footballer * Nikola Nimac, Croatian racer * Nikola Peković, Montenegrin basketball player * Nikola Petroff, Bulgarian wrestler *

Nikola Pilić Nikola "Niki" Pilić (born 27 August 1939) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia. He was one of the Handsome Eight. Pilić was ranked world No. 6 in January 1968 and world No. 7 for 1967 by Lance Tin ...

, Yugoslav Croat professional tennis player * Nikola Pokrivač, Croatian footballer * Nikola Rosić, Serbian volleyball player * Nikola Rybanská (born 1995), Slovak footballer * Nikola Soldo (born 2001), Croatian footballer * Nikola Stojić (born 1974), Serbian rower * Nikola Sudová (born 1982), Czech freestyle skier * Nikola Tsolov (born 2006), Bulgarian racing driver * Nikola Vignjević, Serbian footballer * Nikola Vlašić, Croatian footballer * Nikola Vučević, Montenegrin basketball player * Nikola Vujčić (born 1978), Croatian basketball player and team manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv * Nikola Žigić, Serbian footballer

Other

* Nikola Modruški, Croatian catholic priest * Nikola Radosavljević, Serbian mass murderer * Nicholas Nikola Ribic, Serbian-Canadian convicted for hostage-taking * List Nikola Stojanović (disambiguation), name shared by several individuals

Fictional characters

* Doctor Nikola, a fictional supervillain in works of Guy Boothby

References

{{Reflist Bosnian masculine given names Bulgarian masculine given names Croatian masculine given names Masculine given names Czech feminine given names Macedonian masculine given names Russian masculine given names Serbian masculine given names Slovak feminine given names Ukrainian masculine given names Polish feminine given names Feminine given names Unisex given names