Nicolle is a French-style form of Nicole, from Greek meaning "victory of the people."
Nicolle is a French-inflected feminine variant of Nicolas, which descends through Latin from the Greek name Nikolaos — a compound of "nike" (victory) and "laos" (people), producing the stirring meaning "victory of the people." The name entered the Western naming canon largely through Saint Nicholas of Myra, the fourth-century bishop of Lycia (in modern Turkey) whose legendary generosity — particularly his anonymous gifts of gold to impoverished girls — transformed him into the archetypal figure of charitable giving and, through centuries of European tradition, into Santa Claus. The feminine forms — Nicole, Nicolette, Nicola, Nicolle — flourished across France, Italy, and the broader Romance world as female naming conventions evolved in the medieval and early modern periods.
Nicolle with the double "l" is specifically associated with French orthography, where it occasionally appears as a stylistic choice distinguishing it from the more standard Nicole. In English-speaking countries, Nicole surged dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s, propelled partly by French cultural cachet and partly by the general appeal of elegant, melodic names ending in the soft "el" sound. Notable bearers of the Nicolle variant include Nicolle Wallace, the American political commentator and television host, who brought the spelling into wide public view.
In popular culture, the Nicole/Nicolle cluster carries associations of sophistication and capability — it has appeared consistently on lists of names given to daughters by ambitious, educated parents. The double-l spelling gives parents a way to honor the French tradition while gently marking the name as their own, a quiet personalization within a rich and ancient lineage.