Head to head · Boys' names
Joshua vs Nolan
#66 vs #65 in 2025
Nolan is a whisker ahead (#65 vs #66 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Nolan is holding its place on the charts, Joshua is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Joshua leads 3 measures of 6; Nolan leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Joshua #242, Nolan #839 — Joshua higher
- 1890s: Joshua #345, Nolan #745 — Joshua higher
- 1900s: Joshua #460, Nolan #577 — Joshua higher
- 1910s: Joshua #500, Nolan #491 — Nolan higher
- 1920s: Joshua #589, Nolan #471 — Nolan higher
- 1930s: Joshua #609, Nolan #417 — Nolan higher
- 1940s: Joshua #597, Nolan #441 — Nolan higher
- 1950s: Joshua #501, Nolan #520 — Joshua higher
- 1960s: Joshua #361, Nolan #633 — Joshua higher
- 1970s: Joshua #44, Nolan #580 — Joshua higher
- 1980s: Joshua #5, Nolan #392 — Joshua higher
- 1990s: Joshua #4, Nolan #251 — Joshua higher
- 2000s: Joshua #4, Nolan #155 — Joshua higher
- 2010s: Joshua #28, Nolan #79 — Joshua higher
- 2020s: Joshua #59, Nolan #62 — Joshua higher
Joshua stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Joshua has held the lead since the 1950s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Joshua | Nolan |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #242 | #839 |
| 1890s | #345 | #745 |
| 1900s | #460 | #577 |
| 1910s | #500 | #491 |
| 1920s | #589 | #471 |
| 1930s | #609 | #417 |
| 1940s | #597 | #441 |
| 1950s | #501 | #520 |
| 1960s | #361 | #633 |
| 1970s | #44 | #580 |
| 1980s | #5 | #392 |
| 1990s | #4 | #251 |
| 2000s | #4 | #155 |
| 2010s | #28 | #79 |
| 2020s | #59 | #62 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Joshua
- England & Wales#50
- Scotland#75
- Canada#83
Nolan
- Canada#34
- France#78
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Joshua
the Lord is salvation
Yehoshua joins a short form of the divine name with a root about saving or delivering: the Lord saves, or the Lord is salvation. The shortened Hebrew form is Yeshua, which is what Greek transliterated as Iesous. The derivation is not disputed anywhere, and it is the reason the Gospel of Matthew explains the name — the text expects readers to hear the meaning in it.
Hoshea → Yehoshua → Iesous → Joshua
How it traveled
The man in the book of Joshua is Moses' successor, and the text records a detail that is easy to skim past: he was called Hoshea, and Moses renamed him Yehoshua, adding the divine element. Renaming at a turning point is a pattern in those books — Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel — and this is one of them.
Nolan
From the Irish personal name Nuallán, a diminutive built on nuall
The Irish root nuall means 'shout, cry, wail', so Nuallán is literally a 'little shout'. The gloss usually attached to the surname Ó Nualláin is 'descendant of the champion' or 'the noble one' — an interpretation of that same root as a battle-cry or a name of renown. Both readings are seriously held; neither has pushed the other out.
nuall (Irish: shout, cry) → Nuallán → Ó Nualláin → Nolan
How it traveled
The name is Gaelic in origin: Ó Nualláin, 'descendant of Nuallán', a family long seated in what is now County Carlow. Like Brady, Ryan and Casey, it traveled with Irish families to North America as a surname, then joined the long American habit of moving Irish surnames to the front of the name.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Joshua
JOSH-oo-uh
JOSH-oo-uh, three syllables, stress at the front. Hebrew puts the weight at the end and sounds every syllable, yeh-ho-SHOO-ah. The English name has lost a syllable and moved the stress, which is ordinary for a name this old in this language.
- Josh — The front clipped, and a complete working name; what nearly every Joshua is called.
- Joss — A softer clipping of the same front, more common in Britain than in America.
- Shua — The back taken alone, which is the Hebrew habit and sounds like a different name entirely.
Nolan
NOH-lən
Stress on the first syllable, second syllable relaxed. Said the same way in English and in French, which is unusual and convenient.
- Nolan — Most bearers use the full name in every setting; it is short enough to need no trimming.
- Nol — Informal, family-level clipping; rarely written down.
- Noley — Affectionate form used mainly with small children.
- No — Occasional playground shortening, sometimes avoided for obvious reasons.
Who has carried each name
Joshua
Joshua Bassett (b. 2000) — High School Musical: The Musical star
Joshua Jackson (b. 1978) — Dawson's Creek's Pacey
Joshua Reynolds (b. 1723) — 18th-century England's master portrait painter
Nolan
Nolan Ryan (b. 1947) — Pitched a record seven no-hitters
Nolan Bushnell (b. 1943) — Founded Atari and launched the video game industry
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Joshua if you want…
- a name with more sound in itJoshua runs 3 syllables, Nolan 2
- a name that charts abroad tooJoshua is on the national lists of England & Wales, Scotland and Canada
- a long American recordJoshua was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Nolan
Choose Nolan if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesNolan is 2 syllables to Joshua's 3
- a newer arrivalNolan entered the US charts in 1881
- a name that feels very nowNolan is holding its place on the charts
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Joshua
Strengths
- The meaning is one of the clearest and most consequential in the whole Hebrew name stock.
- Josh is a complete working short form that needs no explanation anywhere.
- It is the same name as Jesus, which is a genuinely remarkable thing to be able to say and very few people know.
To consider
- A very great many people carry it, so a Joshua will rarely be the only one in a room of a certain age.
- It is closely tied to one recent American generation and dates a person fairly precisely.
- Josh arrives immediately and the full name is rarely used, which matters to families who chose it for the full name.
Nolan
Strengths
- Two syllables, seven letters, and phonetic — most people spell it right the first time after hearing it.
- Works as a first name and reads naturally as a surname, so it sits easily in professional life.
- Recognized in English and French alike, with the same pronunciation in both.
To consider
- Nolen, Nowlan and Noland all exist, so you may be asked which spelling you mean, even though Nolan is the standard one.
- It sits in a crowded sound-neighborhood with Noah, Nathan and Logan; the name itself is not everywhere, but the shape of it is familiar.
- Its rise is recent, so most people carrying it now are children and young adults rather than grown men — that will simply change with time.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Joshua
12%chance Joshua feels dated by 2040
Joshua has held the top-100 across 6 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Nolan
40%chance Nolan feels dated by 2040
Nolan sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Joshua and Nolan in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Joshua and Nolan?
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Joshua and Nolan — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Joshua or Nolan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Joshua or Nolan?
- Nolan, in 2025: Nolan ranked #65 with 4,846 babies; Joshua ranked #66 with 4,773 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Joshua or Nolan?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Joshua moved down 13 places; Nolan moved down 4 places.
- Which is the older name, Joshua or Nolan?
- Joshua was already in use when US records began in 1880; Nolan entered the US charts in 1881. On the American record, Joshua is the older name.
- How many people are named Joshua and Nolan?
- About 1,195,000 people named Joshua are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 128,000 people named Nolan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Joshuas or Nolans in the classroom?
- Joshua will almost certainly be the only one in school. Nolan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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