Nicholas in Chinese
How to write Nicholas in Chinese, how to say it, and real Chinese names picked for it.
Nicholas, written by sound
尼古拉斯
Nígǔlāsī
- 尼ní
- 古gǔ
- 拉lā
- 斯sī
This is how Nicholas is written by sound: in the news, on maps and in translated books. Each character is there for its sound, so their meanings don't add up to anything.
But it isn't a Chinese name. Chinese parents choose a name for what it means, like the ones below.
Real Chinese names for Nicholas
None of these sounds quite like Nicholas, but each one is a real name Chinese parents give, with a meaning of its own. Tap the buttons to hear a character, watch it written, or write it yourself.
Classic name
思远Sīyuǎn
thinking far ahead
sī
thought
yuǎn
far
Classic name
思齐Sīqí
striving to be as good as the best
sī
thought
qí
to equal (见贤思齐: strive to equal the wise)
Classic name
思文Sīwén
thoughtful and cultured
sī
thought
wén
culture, writing
Stroke order follows the mainland China standard; a few characters are written differently in Taiwan.
Get your own Chinese name
Nicholas, get eight real names in the style you like (classic, poetic, wuxia…) and pick the one that feels like you. It takes a minute.
How Chinese names work
The family name comes first, and it is almost always one character: 王 Wáng, 李 Lǐ, 林 Lín. A few have two, like 欧阳 Ōuyáng.
The given name follows: one or two characters, chosen for what they mean. A virtue, a flower, a wish from the parents.
So with a family name in front, 思远 becomes a full name such as 林思远 (Lín Sīyuǎn).
About the name Nicholas
In the US, Nicholas was the 6th most popular boys’ name of the 1990s. In England and Wales it was number 52 in 1996 and is number 214 in 2025.
Sources: US Social Security Administration, Office for National Statistics (UK).