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Summary
- Nicole is the French feminine of Nicholas, from Greek Nikolaos — nike (“victory”) and laos (“the people”). Victory belonging to the people, not over them.
- Nicole is not in the Bible, but Nicolas is: one of the seven appointed in Acts 6:5 when the Greek-speaking widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
- Luke names him “Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism” — an outsider given charge of feeding the overlooked.
- The Church’s first administrative act was a rota for the soup, and a correction made quickly by men willing to be told they were wrong.
- Saint Nicholas, the fourth-century bishop of Anatolia behind Santa Claus, paid a poor man’s daughters’ way anonymously at night.
Bibliography (Click to show)
Sources: Behind the Name entries for Nicole and Nicholas (Greek Nikolaos, nike + laos, “victory of the people”; Saint Nicholas of Anatolia); Scripture from the NIV via BibleGateway (Acts 6:1-6).
