Nola
Feminine
Nola is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 26,262 girls against 9 boys since 1880.
Nola is four letters that behave themselves: one spelling, one pronunciation, no negotiation. It has been in American use for well over a century, and the ear places it instantly beside Nora, Lola and Viola without ever quite being any of them. It also names a real town in Campania, a Roman-era place old enough to have had its own bishop in late antiquity.
How old is the name Nola?
Nola was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Nola alive today was born around 1945, making them about 80 years old. About 14,000 people named Nola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nola most popular?
Nola peaked in 1894, reaching #249 nationally. Today it ranks #821, 572 places below that high. See the whole 1894 chart.
Nola appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Fionnuala to Nola
The story of Nola
The clearest road runs through Ireland: Fionnuala, shortened to Finola and Nuala, and clipped further in English-speaking mouths to Nola — the same trimming that turned Bridget into Bride and Margaret into Meg. A second road is the Irish surname Nolan, reshaped as a girl's given name in the way Nolan itself was later reshaped again. Meanwhile the Italian town of Nola, in Campania, has carried the spelling since Roman times, quite independently of any of this. In 1915 the American composer Felix Arndt wrote a piano novelty called 'Nola' for his fiancée, Nola Locke; the piece became a standard of the ragtime and light-orchestral repertoire and kept the four letters in circulation on sheet music and record labels for decades.
Meaningscholars disagree
Most often read as a short form of the Irish Fionnuala, 'white shoulder'
Three serious readings compete. One takes Nola as a clipped Fionnuala (Irish, 'white shoulder'), by way of Finola and Nuala. Another treats it as a feminine formed from the Irish surname Nolan. A third points to the Italian town of Nola near Naples, whose name is far older than any of these uses. None of the three has pushed the others out.
How the name formed
- Fionnuala
- Finola
- Nuala
- Nola
Related forms: Fionnuala · Nuala · Finola · Fenella · Noleen
Pronouncing Nola
NOH-lə
Two syllables, stress on the first, long o as in 'no'. It rhymes with Lola. Nobody needs it spelled out twice.
Nicknames for Nola
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
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 2019500 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #249reached in 1894
- Change vs 2022
- −29.9%331 in 2025, from 472
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.
Nola in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Fionnuala in Irish — related form
- Nuala in Irish — related form
- Finola in English — related form
- Fenella in Scottish — related form
- Noleen in Afrikaans / Australian English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, North Carolina.
Nolas among us
people named Nola are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 4,856 born in 2025 was named Nola
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Nola 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 Nola is headed
Nola 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.
Nola beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nola in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One spelling, one pronunciation: people write it correctly after hearing it once.
- Already short, so it works as the full name on a form and still takes Nolie when someone wants a longer version.
- Sits in a family of names the ear already knows — Nora, Lola, Viola — so it sounds familiar even to a stranger.
- In continuous use in America for well over a century, with a large generation of older bearers behind it.
- The same sounds exist in Irish, Italian and English with no adjustment needed.
- NOLA is a widely used shorthand for New Orleans, Louisiana. Expect the connection to be mentioned — affectionately, usually — and to appear near the top of any search.
- Over the phone it can be heard as Nora or Lola. A single letter of clarification usually settles it, but that will happen for life.
- Bearers of this name are strongly concentrated among older generations, so it may read to some people as a family name being brought back rather than a new choice — which is roughly what it is.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Nola to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Nola
Feminine · #821 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nolas 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 Nola are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nola in 2025?
- Nola ranks #821 among US girl names in 2025, with 331 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Nola?
- About 1 in every 4,856 US girls born in 2025 was named Nola — 331 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nola with classmates?
- Nola will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nola
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Keyla#821 · Livia#819 · Jessie#823 · Promise#823 · Nyomi#823 · Aliya#823 · Julietta#819 · Aura#817
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nola? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nola and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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