Nicolau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
France

The surname is one of the oldest family names to came from that French region known as Brittany. It is derived from the Latin personal name Nicolaus, meaning victory people.

Early Origins of the Nicolau family

The surname Nicolau was first found in Brittany where they held a family seat in the seigneurie of Trévidy. They were members of the nobility since the year 1497. In Brittany they also branched to Champgèrault, Fardelière, Kerviziou, and Lézernant.

Early History of the Nicolau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nicolau research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1501, 1516, 1598, 1617, 1625, 1682, 1695, 1709 and 1820 are included under the topic Early Nicolau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nicolau Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Nicolau, including Nicolas, De Nicolas, Nicolis, Nicolaz, Nicolais, Nicolai, Nicola, Nicolay, Nicolau, Nicolaud, Nicolaus, DeNicolai and many more.

Early Notables of the Nicolau family

Notable amongst this name at this time was Louis Nicolas (died 1682), French missionary in Canada, author of the books "Histoire Naturelle des Indes Occidentales" and the "Grammaire algonquine"; Gabriel Nicolas...
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Nicolau Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nicolau Ranking

In France, the name Nicolau is the 3,975^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 1

Nicolau migration to the United States +

Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, the Acadians were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. In 1793, the remaining French in these provinces came under British rule. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Nicolau were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Nicolau were

Nicolau Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Pablo Nicolau, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1820 2
Francisco Nicolau, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1820 2
Josefa Nicolau, aged 20, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1831 2
Jose Nicolau, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1831 2
Juan Pedro Nicolau, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1860 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Nicolau (post 1700) +

Cristina Nicolau (1977-2017), Romanian triple jumper, active in the 1990s
Nicolau dos Reis Lobato (1952-1978), East-Timorese politician and national hero

The Nicolau Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: En bon espoir
Motto Translation: In good hope.

Citations +

http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)