Nolan
Masculine
Nolan is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 135,505 boys against 556 girls since 1880. See Nolan as a girl name
Nolan began as an Irish family name, Ó Nualláin, carried out of Leinster by emigrants and eventually turned around into a first name — a common journey for Irish surnames in America. It is two clean syllables with the stress on the front, and it has crossed into French, where it is spelled and said much the same way.
How old is the name Nolan?
Nolan first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Nolan is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 128,000 people named Nolan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Nolan most popular?
Nolan peaked in 2023, reaching #57 nationally. Today it ranks #65, 8 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Nolan appears on these lists:
- Distinctly American names
- America's top 100 names right now
- Two-syllable names, the American default
- Five-letter names, the comfortable middle
- Irish names beyond St. Patrick's Day
- Celtic mythology names
- all guides
Works in Irish families too:
Where it comes from
From nuall (Irish: shout, cry) to Nolan
The story of Nolan
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. It has been on US records since the nineteenth century, quietly, long before its recent wave. French parents adopted it independently in the late twentieth century, and it now charts in France and Canada as well.
Meaningscholars disagree
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.
Cultural footprint
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.
How the name formed
- nuallIrish: shout, cry
- Nuallán
- Ó Nualláin
- Nolan
Related forms: Ó Nualláin · Nolan · Nolann · Nolen · Nowlan · Noland
Pronouncing 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.
Nicknames for Nolan
High
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
- 1881
- Most boys named
- 20195,403 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #57reached in 2023
- Change vs 2022
- −1.7%4,846 in 2025, from 4,928
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.
Nolan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Nualláin in Irish — related form
- Nolan in French — same name
- Nolann in French — spelling variant
- Nolen in English — spelling variant
- Nowlan in Irish English — spelling variant
- Noland in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Pennsylvania. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from Statistics Canada, INSEE. Sources
Nolans among us
people named Nolan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 352 born in 2025 was named Nolan
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 Marcus test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Nolan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Marcus climbed just as high around 1984, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Marcus's path sketches the road Nolan is walking now.
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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Nolan is headed
Nolan should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Nolan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Nolan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- 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.
- A documented Irish family name with centuries of record behind it, not a recent coinage.
- No pressure to shorten it, which suits parents who dislike nicknames.
- 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.
- There is no natural short form, which is a plus for some families and a small loss for others.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Nolan to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Nolan
Masculine · #65 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Nolans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 128,000 people named Nolan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Nolan in 2025?
- Nolan ranks #65 among US boy names in 2025, with 4,846 babies given the name.
- How common is the name Nolan?
- About 1 in every 352 US boys born in 2025 was named Nolan — 4,846 in all.
- Will my child share the name Nolan with classmates?
- Nolan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Nolan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Joshua#66 · Brooks#64 · Nathan#63 · Angel#67 · Aiden#62 · Christopher#68 · Ezekiel#61 · Lincoln#69
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Nolan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Nolan 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; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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