Noel

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Boy · Latin, through Old French

Noel

Say it: NOH-ul

Try it with your surname

Meaning

From Old French noel 'Christmas'.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

Given to children born at Christmas.

Its wave through time

Timeless: in steady use for over a century

In the United States

62,921 babies given this name since 1880
At its height in 2014, about 1 in 2,100 boys
849 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

The family of the name

Other spellings: Nowell, Noël

French	Noël

Names worth a look

SimonBoyGreek form used for Hebrew Shim'on (Simeon, 'he has heard'); Simōn was also an existing Greek name meaning 'snub-nosed'.Biblical · peak 2015

MalcolmBoyFrom Gaelic Máel Coluim 'devotee of (Saint) Columba'; Columba is Latin for 'dove'.Middle Ages · peak 1992

GerardBoyFrom Germanic ger 'spear' and hard 'hard, brave'.Middle Ages · peak 1956

HubertBoyFrom Germanic hug 'heart, mind' and berht 'bright'.Early Medieval · peak 1916 · forgotten

AbelBoyHebrew Hevel, usually understood as 'breath, vapour'.Biblical · peak 2015

NealBoyA spelling of Neil, from Irish Niall, whose meaning is uncertain ('champion' and 'cloud' have been proposed).Middle Ages · peak 1952 · forgotten

NellieGirlA pet form of Helen, Eleanor or Ellen. Helen, from Greek Helene, whose origin is unknown; the popular link to Greek…Victorian · peak 1889

NolanBoyFrom the Irish surname Ó Nualláin 'descendant of Nuallán', a personal name possibly from nuall 'shout, noble'; the…Modern · peak 2018

Where this comes from

English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.