Unisex name ★ peaked 2014

Noel

Meaning Christmas Gender Unisex · 23% girls Rank 2025 #478 Trend → Stable

From Middle English Nowel, borrowed from Old French Noel (“Christmas”), from Latin nātālis [diēs Dominī] (“birth[day of the Lord]”).

Rank 2025
#478
among boys · ↓44 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
792
named Noel · -10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,690
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2014
1,107 babies
All-time total
67,380
#498 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Noel popularity over time

67,380 babies have been named Noel since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 95 95 10 – #500
1890s – 155 155 16 +63% #395
1900s 5 302 307 31 +98% #320
1910s 103 1,378 1,481 148 +382% #360
1920s 184 2,115 2,299 230 +55% #351
1930s 464 3,298 3,762 376 +64% #267
1940s 915 3,541 4,456 446 +18% #291
1950s 905 3,646 4,551 455 +2% #366
1960s 1,288 4,664 5,952 595 +31% #298
1970s 1,807 5,135 6,942 694 +17% #299
1980s 2,494 4,773 7,267 727 +5% #367
1990s 2,387 5,271 7,658 766 +5% #394
2000s 1,874 5,814 7,688 769 0% #406
2010s 1,866 7,613 9,479 948 +23% #356
2020s (to 2025) 992 4,296 5,288 881 -7% #398

Where Noel is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 626 0.37 #481
2027 618 0.36 #486
2028 612 0.36 #494
2029 606 0.36 #499
2030 602 0.35 outside top 500

Where Noel is most popular

Boys named Noel per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.415 per 1,000. Strongest in Nevada, California, and Texas.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Noel born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Nevada 50 0.877 +111%
California 753 0.824 +99%
Texas 708 0.804 +94%
Arizona 121 0.740 +78%
Rhode Island 12 0.736 +77%
Illinois 169 0.661 +59%
New Mexico 21 0.637 +54%
Connecticut 38 0.561 +35%
New York 226 0.522 +26%
Florida 233 0.492 +19%
New Jersey 99 0.492 +19%
Washington 80 0.489 +18%
Colorado 58 0.449 +8%
Maryland 52 0.436 +5%
Virginia 82 0.432 ≈ national
North Carolina 107 0.419 ≈ national
Georgia 106 0.418 ≈ national
Massachusetts 54 0.393 -5%
District of Columbia 5 0.339 -18%
South Carolina 34 0.329 -21%
Kansas 21 0.306 -26%
Wisconsin 34 0.287 -31%
Alabama 31 0.284 -32%
Louisiana 27 0.264 -36%
Pennsylvania 70 0.264 -36%
Indiana 37 0.231 -44%
Oklahoma 19 0.215 -48%
Tennessee 35 0.194 -53%
Michigan 35 0.171 -59%
Oregon 12 0.158 -62%
Nebraska 6 0.138 -67%
Ohio 30 0.113 -73%
Utah 10 0.105 -75%
Arkansas 6 0.095 -77%
Minnesota 11 0.090 -78%
Iowa 5 0.073 -83%
Kentucky 5 0.050 -88%
Missouri 5 0.036 -91%
Alaska – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Noel

Noel is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #478 in 2025 with 635 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 67,380 American babies have been named Noel, about 77% boys and 23% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2014, when 1,107 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Noel stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Noel?

The median living Noel is about 33 years old; half are between 14 and 53. An estimated 55 thousand people named Noel are alive in the United States today.

median 33 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Noel year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 157 #1,395 635 #478
2024 150 #1,464 731 #434
2023 173 #1,315 686 #451
2022 192 #1,254 743 #425
2021 178 #1,290 787 #398
2020 142 #1,506 714 #417
2019 199 #1,182 791 #395
2018 192 #1,221 789 #405
2017 201 #1,206 832 #386
2016 204 #1,211 846 #381
2015 212 #1,192 862 #376
2014 206 #1,191 901 #356
2013 182 #1,290 778 #383
2012 145 #1,527 682 #417
2011 165 #1,390 587 #456
2010 160 #1,434 545 #478
2009 181 #1,333 555 #491
2008 178 #1,364 592 #468
2007 193 #1,275 636 #440
2006 180 #1,304 607 #446
2005 182 #1,248 591 #442
2004 168 #1,276 572 #454
2003 185 #1,170 514 #483
2002 192 #1,101 548 #449
2001 210 #1,029 583 #422
2000 205 #1,028 616 #406
1995 226 #862 521 #438
1990 255 #792 588 #394
1985 302 #623 445 #407
1980 188 #832 458 #376
1975 172 #802 501 #342
1970 200 #738 674 #299
1965 109 #1,001 387 #399
1960 78 #1,246 390 #401
1955 132 #848 338 #394
1950 84 #999 305 #384
1945 98 #760 318 #336
1940 73 #837 374 #291
1935 42 #1,082 339 #297
1930 35 #1,284 214 #393
1925 20 #1,993 198 #426
1920 18 #2,144 206 #414
1915 9 #3,066 223 #360
1910 – – 44 #404
1905 – – 39 #320
1900 – – 18 #596
1895 – – 17 #499
1890 – – 10 #655
1885 – – 8 #745
1880 – – 10 #626

Famous people named Noel

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Noel Gallagher Noel Gallagher English musician (born 1967) Contemporary
  2. 2 Noel Clarke Noel Clarke English actor and filmmaker (born 1975) Contemporary
  3. 3 Noel Fisher Noel Fisher Canadian actor (born 1984) Contemporary
  4. 4 Noel Redding Noel Redding English musician (1945–2003) Contemporary
  5. 5 Noel Neill Noel Neill American actress (1920–2016) Contemporary
  6. 6 Noel Hogan Noel Hogan Irish musician and record producer (born 1971) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Noel, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Noel?

The median living Noel is about 33 years old. Half of all living Noels are between 14 and 53 years old.

How many people named Noel are alive today?

An estimated 55 thousand people named Noel are alive in the United States, based on 67,380 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Noel mean?

From Middle English Nowel, borrowed from Old French Noel (“Christmas”), from Latin nātālis [diēs Dominī] (“birth[day of the Lord]”).

How popular is the name Noel in 2025?

Noel ranked #478 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 635 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Noel?

67,380 babies have been named Noel in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Noel most popular?

Noel peaked in 2014, when 1,107 newborns received the name.

Is Noel a boy or girl name?

Noel is used for both: about 23% of babies named Noel have been girls and 77% boys.

Is the name Noel rising or falling?

Noel has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Noel become more popular?

Noel looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 602 boys named Noel in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Noel?

Well-known people named Noel include Noel Gallagher (singer), Noel Clarke (actor), Noel Fisher (actor).

Names like Noel

Names that sound and feel close to Noel: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Noel with similar names → More names starting with N →