Clas

Clas is a Swedish masculine given name, a contracted form of Nikolaus, the Latinized version of the Greek name Nikolaos, which combines the elements nikē, meaning victory, and laos, meaning people. The name entered Scandinavian use through the veneration of Saint Nicholas, the fourth-century bishop of Myra whose cult spread widely across medieval Europe. Clas represents the same reduction seen in other Nordic and Germanic pet forms of the name, and it is closely related to Klas, Klaus, Claus, and Nils.