Show ContentsNicholls History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Nicholls Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Nicholls

What does the name Nicholls mean?

The Nicholls surname comes from the German personal name Nikolaus.

Early Origins of the Nicholls family

The surname Nicholls was first found in Austria, where the family rose to prominence early in the mediaeval era. From the 13th century the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation. The name refers to St. Nickolaus, the patron saint of seafaring merchants and the protector of children.

Early History of the Nicholls family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nicholls research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1582, 1664, 1717, 1745, 1756, 1761, 1766 and 1787 are included under the topic Early Nicholls History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nicholls Spelling Variations

In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Nicholls include Nickel, Nikel, Nickl, Nickle, Nickele, Nickels, Nickelsen, Nickelson, Nicol, Nicols, Nicolsen, Nicolson, Nichol, Nicholl, Nichols, Nicholls, Nicholson, Nichaelsen, Nickells, Nickell, Nichelmann, Nickelmann, Nichelman and many more.

Early Notables of the Nicholls family

Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Nicholls Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Nicholls World Ranking

the United States, the name Nicholls is the 5,701st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in Australia, the name Nicholls is ranked the 204th most popular surname with an estimated 16,240 people with that name. 2 And in New Zealand, the name Nicholls is the 246th popular surname with an estimated 2,429 people with that name. 3 The United Kingdom ranks Nicholls as 211st with 27,095 people. 4

Nicholls migration to the United States +

After the First World War, Austria became a republic. The Treaty of Versailles broke up the empire in 1919 and many of the Sudeten Germans were incorporated into the new nation of Czechoslovakia. In the 20th century, many Austrians migrated to other parts of Germany or Europe, as well as to North America. In the United States, the majority of settlers landed in Philadelphia, and moved on to Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, New York, and Maryland. Many German settlers also migrated to Canada, particularly Ontario and the Prairies. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Nicholls were

Nicholls Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Mr. William Nicholls, aged 26, who arrived in Virginia aboard the ship "Dutie" in 1619 6
  • Thomas Nicholls, who landed in Virginia in 1622 6
  • Robert Nicholls, who landed in Maryland in 1635 6
  • Elizabeth Nicholls, aged 25, who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "Susan and Ellin"
  • Robert Nicholls, who landed in Virginia in 1637 aboard the ship "Tristram and Jane" 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Nicholls Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Susanna Nicholls, who arrived in Virginia in 1700 6
  • Martin Nicholls, who landed in Virginia in 1701 6
  • Anne Nicholls, who landed in Virginia in 1701 6
  • Thomas Nicholls, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 6
  • David Nicholls, who landed in Virginia in 1702 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Nicholls Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Anthony Edward Nicholls, aged 29, who arrived in New York in 1812 6
  • Robert Nicholls, aged 22, who arrived in America in 1822 6
  • James Nicholls, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1832 6
  • Samuel Nicholls, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1835 6
  • E Nicholls, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Nicholls Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mr. Edward Nicholls, (b. 1887), aged 16, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "Oceanic" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 5th March 1903 en route to Rawlins, Wyoming, USA 7
  • Miss Edith Nicholls, (b. 1876), aged 27, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "St Paul" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 6th June 1903 en route to Butte, Montana, USA 7
  • Miss Edith Maud Nicholls, (b. 1884), aged 20, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "St Paul" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 24th September 1904 en route to Freeport, Illinois, USA 7
  • Mr. Edwin Nicholls, (b. 1885), aged 20, Cornish miner travelling aboard the ship "New York" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to Central City, Colorado, USA 7
  • Miss Elizabeth Mary Nicholls, (b. 1858), aged 47, Cornish factory hand travelling aboard the ship "New York" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to Iron Mountain, Michigan, USA 7
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Nicholls migration to Canada +

Nicholls Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Lucy Nicholls, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1811
  • James Nicholls, who arrived in Canada in 1816

Nicholls migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the Second Fleet and Third Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Second Fleet
  • Mr. Henry Nicholls, British settler convicted in Middlesex, England in 1790, sentenced to 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the ship "Third Fleet" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 5
  • Mr. Thomas Nicholls, British settler convicted in London, England in 1790, sentenced to 7 years for stealing clothes, transported aboard the ship "Active" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 6
Third Fleet
  • Mr. John Nicholls, (b. 1760), aged 27, English settler convicted in London on 21st April 1784, sentenced for 7 years for theft, transported aboard the ship "Scarborough" leaving in 1787 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1788 6
Following the Second and Third Fleets, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include:

Nicholls Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
Nicholls Settlers in Australia in the 20th Century
  • Mr. Edward J. Nicholls, (b. 1883), aged 18, Cornish settler travelling aboard the ship "Duke of Norfolk" arriving in Queensland, Australia on 16th February 1901 12

Nicholls migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Nicholls Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • William Nicholls, aged 21, a cooper, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Aurora" in 1840
  • Mr. William Nicholls, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Joseph Fletcher" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 30th September 1853 13
  • Mrs. Catherine Nicholls, British settler travelling from London, UK aboard the ship "Bank of England" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 28th December 1855 13
  • Mr. Nicholls, British settler travelling from London, UK with 5 children aboard the ship "Bank of England" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 28th December 1855 13
  • Frederick Nicholls, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Zealandia" in 1861
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Nicholls migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 14
Nicholls Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Jer Nicholls, aged 16, who arrived in St Christopher in 1635 6
  • Thomas Nicholls, who settled in Barbados in 1654

Contemporary Notables of the name Nicholls (post 1700) +

  • Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls (1834-1912), American attorney, politician, and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army, 28th Governor of Louisiana (1877-1880) and (1888-1892)
  • William W. Nicholls (b. 1860), American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in SAINT Michaels, 1889-99; U.S. Vice & Deputy Consul in SAINT Michaels, 1899-1914 15
  • Thomas David Nicholls (1870-1931), American Democratic Party politician, Coal miner; president, District 1, United Mine Workers of America, 1899-1909; U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 10th District, 1907-11 16
  • Samuel Jones Nicholls (1885-1937), American Democratic Party politician, Member of South Carolina State House of Representatives, 1906-09; U.S. Representative from South Carolina 4th District, 1915-21 16
  • Joshua L. Nicholls, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Trumbull, 1836 16
  • John Calhoun Nicholls (1834-1893), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Georgia, 1876; Member of Georgia State Legislature; U.S. Representative from Georgia 1st District, 1879-81, 1883-85 16
  • John A. Nicholls, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, 1909, 1910; Prohibition Candidate for U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, 1922 16
  • James A. Nicholls, American politician, U.S. Collector of Customs, 1845-49 16
  • George Nicholls, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Thompson, 1836-37 16
  • ... (Another 24 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
HMAS Sydney II
  • Mr. Malcolm Godfrey Nicholls (1919-1941), Australian Able Seaman from South Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 16
  • Mr. Douglas H Nicholls (b. 1917), English Stoker 2nd Class serving for the Royal Navy from Hackney, London, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 17
  • Mr. Thomas Nicholls, British Able Bodied Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 18
  • Reginald Frederick Nicholls, British Commander with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 19
  • Mr. Sidney Nicholls (d. 1912), aged 39, English Saloon Steward from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 20
  • ... (Another 1 entries are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  3. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  4. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  5. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
  6. 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)
  7. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
  8. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 10th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent
  10. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 190 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1822
  11. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 151 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1823
  12. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retreived 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_queensland.pdf
  13. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  15. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  16. HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp
  17. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
  18. HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
  19. Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
  20. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html

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