Noel

What Noel means

French, meaning “birthday of the Lord”

Inherited from Middle French Noël, from Old French Noel, Naël, inherited from Vulgar Latin *notālis, from Latin nātālis [diēs Dominī] (“birthday of the Lord”) with dissimilation of the first -a- to -o-.

Source: Wiktionary, “Noël” (revision 92144209), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Noel?

US: Falling: down from #375 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #372 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2014, when 901 boys got the name (#356 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,690 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 4,184 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 4,910 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in CA (0.72 per 1,000 boys), TX (0.68 per 1,000 boys), NV (0.62 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Noel is #478 in the US and #593 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 80.2% of US babies named Noel were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Neil288 US · 34 E&W
• Nael263 US · 52 E&W
• Neel108 US · 18 E&W
• Naol5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Noyal

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Noel

Boys

• Augustine#545Same root as Austin, meaning “majestic”^*
• Bo#449Swedish, from Old Norse Búi, meaning “dweller, long-time resident”^*
• Julien#709Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #709 vs #3,256 in 2025
• Marcel#730Editor’s note Up from #771 in 2015 to #730 in 2025 in the US
• Avery#291Editor’s note Down from #188 in 2015 to #291 in 2025 in the US
• Lewis#433Same root as Louis, meaning “loud; famous + battle”^*

For a sister

• Colette#316Editor’s note Up from #525 in 2015 to #316 in 2025 in the US
• Rosalie#171“rose”^*
• Charlotte#2Form of Charles, meaning “free man”^*
• Estelle#573“star”^*
• Eloise#49Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #254 in 2015, #49 in 2025. 6 letters, starting with a vowel
• Jane#221“God is gracious”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under French, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Noel’s. Rank is US 2025.