Noel
Feminine · “Christmas”
Noel is given to both — 15,284 girls and 52,096 boys since 1880. See Noel as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Noel began as the French word for Christmas, handed to children born in the days around it — a practice old enough that it hardened into an English surname, Nowell, before most surnames existed. It is two syllables with the weight on the second, easy to say in French, Spanish and English alike, and it needs no nickname to be short.
How old is the name Noel?
Noel first appears in US birth records in 1909 — 116 years ago. The typical Noel alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 14,000 people named Noel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Noel most popular?
Noel peaked in 1987, reaching #587 nationally. Today it ranks #1388, 801 places below that high. See the whole 1987 chart.
Noel appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From natalis (dies) to Noel
The story of Noel
The Latin phrase natalis dies, 'day of birth', narrowed in Christian use to mean the Nativity, and in Old French became noel — both the feast and the shout of celebration in carols. Medieval England took it as a given name for children born at Christmastide, and it stuck so well that it became a hereditary surname, spelled Nowell, which is how the old Cornish carol printed in the early nineteenth century still writes it. The name traveled with French and Spanish speakers as well as English ones, which is part of why it stays familiar in California, Texas and New York. In the US it has been given to boys throughout its run, with a real if smaller number of girls carrying the same spelling.
Meaning
Christmas; birthday
From Old French noel, from Latin natalis (dies), 'birth day' — the nativity. The same Latin root gives Natalie and Natalia.
How the name formed
- natalisdies
- noelOld French
- Nowell
- Noel
Related forms: Noël · Noel · Noelle · Natale · Nollaig · Nadal
Pronouncing Noel
noh-EL
Stress falls on the second syllable in English and French alike. The French spelling Noël uses the diaeresis to show the two vowels are said separately; without it, English speakers arrive at the same place anyway. The surname spelling Nowell is sometimes said NOH-ul.
Nicknames for Noel
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1909
- Most girls named
- 1987336 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #587reached in 1987
- Change vs 2023
- −9.2%157 in 2025, from 173
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Noel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Noël in French — spelling variant
- Noel in Spanish — same name
- Noelle in English (feminine) — related form
- Natale in Italian — related form
- Nollaig in Irish — related form
- Nadal in Catalan — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Noels among us
people named Noel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 10,237 born in 2025 was named Noel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Portia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Noel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Portia climbed just as high around 1949, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Portia's path sketches the road Noel is walking now.
Noel 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Noel is headed
Noel should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Noel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Noel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Short, two syllables, and spelled the way it sounds — no correction routine and no nickname required.
- Works unchanged in English, French and Spanish, which matters in the states where it is strongest.
- A documented line running from medieval England back to Latin, unbroken and easy to explain in a sentence.
- Steady rather than trendy: present across generations without ever crowding a classroom.
- The Christmas link is permanent and everyone gets it instantly. That is charming for a December baby and a small running joke for a July one — carols, cards, the same greeting every year.
- For a girl, Noelle is the far more expected spelling, so a girl named Noel will meet people who assume a missing -le, and forms and rosters may default to reading the name as a boy's.
- Written by hand or heard over the phone, it can come back as Noelle, Nowell, or the French Noël with its two dots. None of these are hard to fix, but the fixing is lifelong.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Noel to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Noel? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Noel
Feminine · #1388 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Noels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 14,000 people named Noel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Noel in 2025?
- Noel ranks #1388 among US girl names in 2025, with 157 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Noel?
- About 1 in every 10,237 US girls born in 2025 was named Noel — 157 in all.
- Will my child share the name Noel with classmates?
- Noel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Noel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Gaia#1388 · Jael#1388 · Jersey#1388 · Esmeray#1388 · Delainey#1388 · Austyn#1388 · Alyson#1388 · Alitzel#1382
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Noel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Noel and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle