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NICHOLSON Family History

Recorded in many patronymic forms including Nicholson, Nickelson, Nickinson, Nickerson, and even Nicklinson, this is a surname of the British Isles, but one which is ultimately biblical. Introduced into Europe by returning Crusader knights from the Holy Land in the 12th century, it derives from the ancient Greek name "Nikolaos", which translates as "victory-people" . The name was also popular in Europe because of a late veneration during the Christian Revival of the early medieval pewriod, for the martyrd St. Nicholas of Lycia, in the 4th century. There are an estimated three hundred spelling forms found throughout Christendom, although the patroymics in Britain seem to date from the late 15th century...