Name day
Nicholas: Name Day and Patron Saint
Nicholas keeps the name day on 6 December, or 19 December on the Old Calendar: the feast of St Nicholas the Wonderworker.
- Patron saint
- St Nicholas the Wonderworker
- New Calendar
- 6 December
- Old Calendar
- 19 December
- Next name day
- 6 December 2026 (New Calendar) · 19 December 2026 (Old Calendar)
- In the feast calendar
- The feasts of December
The patron saint: St Nicholas the Wonderworker
Kept on 6 December, or 19 December on the Old Calendar · Repose (Russian folk name: Nikola Zimny, 'Winter St Nicholas')
St Nicholas was born in Patara in Lycia, the only son of the pious Theophanes and Nonna, who dedicated him to God. He gave away his whole inheritance to the poor, always in secret. Most famously, he threw gold through a poor man’s window by night so that his three daughters could marry honorably. Chosen by God’s own sign as Archbishop of Myra, he was gentle with his flock yet fearless for the truth. He was imprisoned for Christ under Diocletian, stood against Arius at the First Ecumenical Council, and snatched the sword from an executioner’s hand to save three innocent men. He calmed storms, fed his city in famine, and freed captives. After his repose his relics flowed with fragrant myrrh, and in 1087 they were carried to Bari in Italy. To this day Orthodox Christians everywhere, and above all in Russia, pray to St Nicholas as their “speedy helper”. They call on him before every journey, for their children, for their daughters’ marriages, and in any hard hour.
What the faithful pray for
- safe journeys and a safe return home
- the protection and well-being of children
- a good marriage for one’s daughters
- a good and holy family life
- deliverance from misfortunes and illness
- a good outcome in a difficult situation
- justice for those wrongly accused or condemned
- the release of captives and prisoners
- relief from poverty
- help in any hard hour, as a ‘speedy helper’
- the return of the straying to the true path
Protection
- travelers from danger on the road and at sea
- sailors from storms and drowning
- the innocent from unjust sentences
- the poor from want and despair
- from floods
- from famine
- cities and homes from enemies
Miracles
- He secretly threw gold through the window of a ruined father of three daughters, providing their dowries and saving them from being sold into sin. (source)
- He seized the executioner’s sword from above the heads of three men unjustly condemned by a bribed governor, and saved their lives. (source)
- On pilgrimage to the Holy Land he calmed a storm by his prayer and restored a sailor who had fallen from the mast. (source)
- He appeared to an Italian merchant, leaving three gold coins as pledge, and sent him with grain to rescue Myra from famine. (source)
Other saints named Nicholas
St Nicholas II the Passion-Bearer
Kept on 17 July · Martyrdom with the Royal Family
Nicholas Alexandrovich was born on 6 May 1868, the feast of the Righteous Job the Long-suffering, and was raised in deep piety. He was crowned in 1896 and began his reign hoping for peace. He was a devoted husband to Alexandra and a loving father to their five children, and he made his home a little church. He prayed often, honored the saints, and took part in the glorification of St Seraphim of Sarov. When the First World War came, he believed it his Christian duty to defend his fellow Orthodox. In March 1917 he gave up the throne. From then until his death he bore exile, humiliation and imprisonment with the meekness of Job, never murmuring, forgiving his enemies and praying with his family. On the night of 16-17 July 1918 he was killed at Yekaterinburg together with his wife, children and faithful servants. The Church honors him as a passion-bearer.
What the faithful pray for
- strength for fathers to lead their families in faith
- a faithful and loving marriage
- patience and meekness under trials and slander
- forgiveness of sins and guidance in every virtue
- the spiritual welfare of Russia
- acceptance of God’s will in suffering
Protection
- the family
- those wrongly accused
- the persecuted
Miracles
- Born on the feast of the Righteous Job the Long-suffering, he bore all his trials after his abdication firmly, meekly and without a murmur, as the Church’s life of him teaches. (source)
the Royal Passion-Bearers
Kept on 17 July · Martyrdom at Yekaterinburg (1918)
The last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas, his wife Alexandra and their five children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei, lived as one household of the Church of Christ, bound together by love. The Church’s hymns praise how they built their home on love, kept their marriage honorable, and raised their daughters as wise virgins for Christ. Their son Alexei bore a grave illness from infancy as a cross from the Lord, without complaint. During the war the Empress and her elder daughters served the wounded as sisters of mercy. After the Tsar’s abdication in 1917 the family was held in captivity. They bore humiliation with Christian meekness, prayed together, and forgave their persecutors. In the night of 16-17 July 1918 they were killed together at Yekaterinburg. The Russian Church Abroad glorified them in 1981, and the Moscow Patriarchate glorified them in 2000 as passion-bearers, those who imitate Christ by meekly accepting suffering and death.
What the faithful pray for
- love and unity in the family
- a faithful and honorable marriage
- raising children in the faith
- healing of sick children
- comfort for parents grieving over children in sickness or sin
- patience and meekness in suffering
- forgiveness of enemies
- the spiritual welfare of Russia and her people
Protection
- the family hearth
- children from sickness and the passions of this age
- the persecuted
- Orthodox families from division
Miracles
- Tsarevich Alexei was born, after long prayer, as ‘the fruit of the prayers of the Wonderworker of Sarov’, the longed-for heir of his royal parents. (source)
- Collections of testimonies record many healings and answered prayers through the intercession of the Royal Passion-bearers since their glorification. (source)
St Nicholas of Japan
Kept on 3 February, or 16 February on the Old Calendar · St Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Archbishop of Japan
The Russian missionary who planted the Orthodox Church in Japan and translated the services into Japanese.
Nicholas in other languages
| Language | The name | Short forms |
|---|---|---|
| English | Nicholas, Nicolas, Nickolas, Nicolaus, Nikolaus, Niklas, Nicola, Nicolò, Niccolò, Klaus, Nikolai, Nikolaos, Nikola | Nick, Nicky, Nickie, Nico, Nik, Nicko |
| Greek | Νικόλαος, Νικόλας, Nikolaos, Nikolas | Νίκος, Νικολάκης, Νικολής, Nikos, Nikolakis |
| Russian | Николай, Nikolai, Nikolay, Nikolaj | Коля, Колюня, Николаша, Колян, Kolya, Kolia, Nikolasha, Kolyan |
| Ukrainian | Микола, Mykola | Миколка, Микольцьо, Mykolka |
| Belarusian | Мікалай, Mikalai | |
| Bulgarian | Никола, Николай, Nikola, Nikolay | Кольо, Ники, Kolyo, Niki |
| Serbian | Никола, Nikola | Никица, Nikolica, Nidža |
| Romanian | Nicolae, Niculae | Nicu, Nicușor, Nae, Culai, Neculai |
| Georgian | ნიკოლოზ, Nikoloz | ნიკა, Nika, Niko |
| Arabic | نقولا, نيقولا, Niqula, Nicola, Nicolas, Nicolai | |
| Spanish | Nicolás | |
| Italian | Nicola, Niccolò | |
| French | Nicolas | |
| German | Nikolaus, Klaus | |
| Dutch | Nicolaas, Klaas | |
| Polish | Mikołaj |
Icons of St Nicholas the Wonderworker
Folding diptychSt Nicholas the Wonderworker & Guardian Angel
$99$69
Folding diptychSt Nicholas II (passion-bearer) & Guardian Angel
$99$69
Folding diptychSts Nicholas II & Alexandra (Royal Passion-Bearers)
$99$69
Folding diptychRoyal Passion-Bearers (Romanov family) & Feodorovskaya Mother of God
$99$69
Folding diptychRoyal Passion-Bearers (Romanov family) & Guardian Angel
$99$69
Have it consecrated by our priest before it reaches you: Consecration, $49.
A name-day gift for Nicholas
Name-Day Gift Set $213$149
A patron saint's folding diptych chosen by first name, a stainless steel crucifix and a prayer rope, in a gift box with a card giving the saint's life and feast day.
St Nicholas the Wonderworker's diptych is chosen and the name is filled in.
Other names with this saint
Questions
When is Nicholas’s name day?
Nicholas keeps the name day on 6 December on the New Calendar and on 19 December on the Old Calendar, the feast of St Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Who is the patron saint of Nicholas?
St Nicholas the Wonderworker. St Nicholas was born in Patara in Lycia, the only son of the pious Theophanes and Nonna, who dedicated him to God.
How is Nicholas written in other languages?
Greek: Νικόλαος (Nikolaos), Russian: Николай (Nikolai), Ukrainian: Микола (Mykola), Belarusian: Мікалай (Mikalai), Bulgarian: Никола (Nikola) and Serbian: Никола (Nikola). Every form of the name keeps the same saint.
What is a good name-day gift for Nicholas?
An icon of St Nicholas the Wonderworker, the saint Nicholas bears: the St Nicholas the Wonderworker & Guardian Angel Folding Diptych ($69), or the Name-Day Gift Set ($149) with that diptych, a crucifix and a prayer rope in a gift box.
More about name days
- Name Days Explained: What They Are, How Families Keep Them, and Gifts
A name day is the feast of the saint whose name you carry. Here is how to find yours on either calendar, how Greek and Russian families keep it, and what to give.
- Orthodox Patron Saint: How to Find Yours (by Name, Day or Choice)
Your Orthodox patron saint is the saint whose name you were given at baptism. Here is how to find yours by name, by the day of your birth or baptism, or by choice, and how to keep the name day.
- Find another name
Sources
- OCA - Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia
- OCA - Translation of the relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra to Bari
- Foma - О чем молятся Николаю Чудотворцу?
- Foma - В чем помогает Николай Чудотворец
- Azbyka - Святитель Николай Чудотворец (житие)
- Страстотерпец Николай II Романов (Азбука веры)
- Акафист святым царственным страстотерпцам (Азбука веры)
- Акафист святому страстотерпцу царевичу Алексию (Азбука веры)
- OCA Lives of the Saints, 17 July
- eortologio.net, Greek name-day calendar (Εορτολόγιο)
- azbyka.ru, Месяцеслов (the Russian Church's calendar of saints by name)