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Colette

Girl name · 776 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Colette: 776 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 43 births in 1987.

Colette is the French feminine diminutive of Nicholas, tracing back through Latin to the Greek Nikolaos, meaning "victory of the people." The name is most famously associated with Saint Colette, a 15th-century French nun and reformer of the Poor Clares, and with the celebrated French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, known simply as Colette, whose works like *Gigi* won her international acclaim. While no prominent Scottish places bear the name, it has found steady use in Scotland since the 1970s, often as an elegant alternative to Nicole. The spelling Collette, with a double 'l', is a common variant, and the name has a distinctly literary, slightly bohemian air, partly thanks to the novelist's colourful life.