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Noel

boy name
Origin
French
Syllables
2
Peak era
2010s/2020s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Noel and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

"Christmas"

The story

Noel comes straight from the French Noel, Christmas, which itself descends from the Latin natalis, birth day, the day of the Nativity. For centuries it was the natural name for a child born in the Christmas season, a small piece of the holiday carried through a whole life. It works for girls and boys alike, sometimes written Noelle or with the two dots as Noel, and it has a bright artistic history, from the playwright and songwriter Noel Coward to the many Noels of stage and song. In the United States it has been rising and reads as current now as at any point in its history, helped along by its cheerful, wintry warmth. Noel is compact, festive and genuinely old, a name that never fully leaves the calendar and quietly returns each December, ready to be given to someone born under the lights.

More names with stories →

Noel's name family

One shared root links 4 names across 2 languages.

Shared root: from Old French noel "Christmas", from Latin natalis "birthday"

The family

NoelFrench

More branches

NoelleFrench · feminine formNoellaFrench · feminine formNoeliaSpanish · feminine form

How popular is Noel around the world?

In the United States, 5,288 babies were named Noel between 2020 and 2025. In Austria, 122 boys named Noel were born in 2025, the 65th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

Noel is on the official records of the United States, Austria, Norway, South Australia, Ireland, Spain, Poland, Mexico City, England and Wales, Chile, Canada, Scotland, Argentina, Brazil and France.

United States

1 in 4,100

In the United States, 5,288 babies were named Noel between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2010s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Noel peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Austria

1 in 620

In Austria, 122 boys named Noel were born in 2025, the 65th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

1984peak 2017

share of that year’s births on record

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Norway

1 in 680 · register 2026

In Norway, 41 boys were given the name Noel in 2025.

1990peak 2024

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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South Australia

1 in 4,600 · 2017

In South Australia, 3 boys were registered as Noel in 2017.
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Noel in 2017.

peak 19492017

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

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Ireland

1 in 6,000

In Ireland, 9 boys named Noel were born in 2025, the 402nd most common name among boys that year.

peak 19662025

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Spain

1 in 6,400

In Spain, 6,928 residents are named Noel, the 341st most common name among men, with a mean age of 22.4 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Poland

1 in 7,000

In Poland, 35 boys named Noel were born in 2025, the 208th most common name among boys that year.

2000peak 2024

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

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Mexico City City

1 in 7,300

In Mexico City, there were 16 registrations of Noel in 2022.

2000peak 20102022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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England and Wales

1 in 9,000

In England and Wales, 65 boys named Noel were born in 2025, the 593rd most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 20172025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

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Chile

1 in 9,900

In Chile, 18 boys were registered as Noel in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 2021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

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Canada

1 in 10,000

In Canada, 36 boys named Noel were born in 2024, the 738th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 19992024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Scotland

1 in 11,000

In Scotland, 4 boys named Noel were registered in 2024, the 619th most common name among boys that year.

1974peak 2018

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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Argentina

1 in 13,000

In Argentina, 50 newborns were given the name Noel in 2024.

peak 20142024

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Brazil

1 in 13,000

At the 2022 census, 15,301 people in Brazil were named Noel, ranked 1,276th, with a median age of 54.
Among people named Noel living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.

1930speak 1960s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 52 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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France

1 in 64,000

In France, about 10 boys named Noel were born in 2025, ranked 2,762nd among boys that year.

1900peak 19512025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

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Montevideo City

last on record 2010

Noel is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

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New South Wales

outside the top 100

Noel is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.

peak 19522025

share of that year’s top-100 registrations

New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names

See the full list for New South Wales →

New Zealand

last on record 1985

Noel is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

peak 19252025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Puerto Rico

last on record 2017

Noel is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 310 babies have carried the name there since 1998.

peak 19982025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Noel

Most people given the name Noel in the United States were born between 1960 and 2019. The Noel you meet today is most often in his 20s or 30s.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Noel

Brice Adrien Calvin Lucien Augustin Jacques

Keep exploring

Names like Noel · Short names

The Noel deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Noel truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Noel fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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