The Name Nikolay
Nikolay is a male name of Greek origin meaning “victory of the people”. Below are the forms of the name, name days in the Orthodox calendar, character by tradition, numerology, the first letter, talismans and compatibility with other names.
Origin and meaning
Nikolay is a male name of Greek origin. Meaning: “victory of the people”. From the Greek Νικόλαος: νίκη, “victory”, and λαός, “people”.
Forms of the name
| Full form | Nikolay |
| Short forms | Kolya, Kolka |
| Affectionate forms | Kolenka, Kolyushka |
Name days (angel’s day)
| May 22 | translation of the relics of St Nicholas the Wonderworker (“Spring Nikola”) |
| August 11 | Nativity of St Nicholas |
| December 19 | St Nicholas the Wonderworker (“Winter Nikola”) |
A name day is the feast of the saint after whom a person was baptised. If several saints share the name, custom is to celebrate the first feast after the birthday. Shown here are the main feasts in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church, with civil (Gregorian) dates.
Character by tradition
In name descriptions, Nikolay is kind, sociable and hard-working. He is reliable and responsive and knows how to keep his word. He can be stubborn and quick-tempered. His strength is generosity and endurance.
Name numerology
Letters of the name Nikolay («Николай») in the Russian 1–9 table: Н 6 + И 1 + К 3 + О 7 + Л 4 + А 1 + Й 2 = 24 → 6. The sum is reduced to one digit; the master numbers 11, 22 and 33 are kept.
Name number 6: care and harmony. Six is the number of home: responsibility for loved ones, a sense of beauty, a wish for comfort and fairness. The weak spot is caring even for those who did not ask for it.
Vowels give the soul number 9 (service and breadth), consonants the personality number 6 (care and harmony). Inner motive: service and breadth; outer manner: care and harmony. Such a gap is not bad in itself: others see one side, close people know the other.
In Slavic Cyrillic numerals (using the modern spelling of the name): Н=50 + И=8 + К=20 + О=70 + Л=30 + А=1 + Й=8 = 187, reduced to 7. Letters that had no numeric value are skipped. This is an additional digit, not a second name number: meanings for the Cyrillic numerals were added in the 20th century, modeled on Western numerology.
More: name number with surname, Slavic Cyrillic numerals, number meanings.
First letter and letters of the name
In letter reading — a popular tradition of interpreting letters — the first letter of the name matters most: it sets the main tone of character. The other letters add shades.
Н — strong character and protest. Critical, choosy about people, unwilling to accept everything; interest in health.
Other letters: И — refinement and kindness; К — endurance and strength of spirit; О — depth of feeling; Л — sense of beauty; А — beginning and action; Й — impulsiveness.
Talismans of the name
Name books usually derive talismans from the name number and its planet; lists differ between authors. Here we follow Cheiro (“Book of Numbers”): number 6 is linked with Venus.
| Planet | Venus |
| Stones | turquoise, emerald |
| Colours | blue, pink |
| Favourable days | Tuesday, Friday |
Compatibility with other names
In numerology, compatibility of names is judged by their numbers. Number 6 goes most easily with 2, 4 and 9, and has more friction with 5 and 7.
Goes well with: Angelina, Arina, Varvara, Vasilisa, Veronika, Evdokiya, Irina, Mariya, Polina, Raisa.
More friction with: Anna, Diana, Kseniya, Liliya, Nadezhda, Praskovya.
Check a couple precisely: compatibility by name.
Outcome
The name Nikolay carries the meaning “victory of the people”. Name number 6 — care and harmony; first letter N — strong character and protest. Inner wishes (service and breadth) and outer manner (care and harmony) differ: a person with this name needs close people to see more than what is shown. Name days: May 22, August 11, December 19.