The name of the town comes from the name Mikołaj [Nicholas]. However the town is not named after St. Nicholas but rather Mikoła or Mikuła which is probably the name of one of its former owners.  The name Mikułów prevailed until the 19th century but the spelling changed over time -Miculow, Mikulow, Nicolaw, Mikulau?

The present name – Mikołów, dates back to 1760,  and was spelled in a number of ways, especially that from the 2nd half of 18th century Prussian authorities restricted the use of Polish.

When the Hohenzollern family was in power there were two competing versions of the German name of the town: Nikolai and Nicolai.

The oldest preserved seal with the old coat of arms dates back to the 15th century and shows a knight’s  helmet in profile adorned with two bunches of feathers.

The present coat of arms  corresponds to those displayed on seals used in the early 19th century and shows a knight’s helmet with the visor up head on.

There are four feathers on top of the helmet – silver, blue, red and yellow. The helmet joined to the breastplate is decorated with a gold rosette.

The present coat of arms has been officially used since 1995.