Nicol
A surname that usually comes from Nicholas, and in Scotland can also be linked with the old Gaelic clan name Nicol.
The #6,729 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 61,601 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Nicol is generally a short form of Nicholas, ultimately from Greek Nikolaos, meaning “victory of the people” or “victorious people.” In medieval use it passed through French and English as Nicoll, Nicole, Nicol, and related forms. In Scottish contexts, some writers also connected the name with Gaelic clan traditions, especially the MacNicol/Nicol line.
History
The name appears in medieval records in several spellings, including Nicol, Nicoll, and Nicole. In England it was commonly treated as a pet or shortened form of Nicholas; in Scotland it also became associated with clan and family groupings such as MacNicol and Nicolson. The surname has remained especially familiar in Scotland and northern England, though it also appears in French surname forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century source links the old Scottish Nicol family with a medieval lord of Assynt in Sutherland.
From the historical record
“NICOL ' NICOLE NICOLL NICOLLE In the Hundred Rolls we find the forms Nicoll, Nicole, Nichole. Nicole and Nicolle are common French surnames. NICOLAS (Gr.) Victorious People or Army”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)