Nicholas or Nikolas is a male given name, derived from the Greek name Νικόλαος (Nikolaos), a combination of the words for "victory" (νίκη; níkē) and "people" (λαὸς; laós). The name can be understood to mean victory of the people. The Greek word (νίκη; níkē) is derived from Egyptian nekht, meaning "to be strong" or "powerful". In addition, "laos" or "λαὸς" in Greek, originates from the word root "-las", as found in the word "λα-τομεῑο" meaning "stone" or "rock" (in Greek Mythology, Deucalion and Pyrrha recreated the people after they had vanished in a catastrophic deluge, by throwing stones behind their shoulders while they kept marching on). The name became popular through Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia, the inspiration for Santa Claus. The customary English version of spelling "Nicholas", using an "h", first came into use in the 12th century and has been firmly established since the Reformation, though "Nicolas" is occasionally used. In 2006, Nicholas – and its variations – was the 17th most popular male name given to babies in the USA. Roughly 0.7151% of the baby boys born that year, or 15,414, were given that name. It is decreasing in popularity, from a high in 1997, when 27,248 US males were given the name Nicholas. That year was the most popular year for Nicholas since 1880, when U.S. records were kept for given names.

Roy Dotrice, OBE (born 26 May 1923) is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.

Dotrice was born in Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, the son of Neva (née Wilton) and Louis Dotrice. He served with the Royal Air Force from 1940 to 1945 during World War II, and was imprisoned in a German POW camp from 1942 to 1945.

He was married to Kay Newman from 1947 until her death in 2007, and they had three children together: Michele, Yvette and Karen, all of whom acted at various points in their careers. He was also the father-in-law of the late Edward Woodward, a contemporary of his and husband of his daughter Michele.

Dotrice notably played the part of John Aubrey in Brief Lives, a one-man tour de force where he was on stage for more than two and a half hours, including the interval when he pretended to sleep. The play premiered in 1967 at the Hampstead Theatre in London. It subsequently had two Broadway engagements and transferred in 1968 to the West End’s Criterion Theatre where it played 400 performances before moving to the Mayfair Theatre. Those runs combined with extensive international touring earned Dotrice a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the greatest number of solo performances (1,782). In 1984 he starred opposite Rosemary Harris in an acclaimed all-star cast production of Noël Coward's Hay Fever.