Nola
Meaning
meaning uncertain; possibly a feminine form of Noll inspired by Lola
The story
Nola's meaning is uncertain, possibly a feminine form of Noll inspired by Lola, says Behind the Name, which places its strongest run in Australia and New Zealand, especially the first half of the twentieth century. The American record kept the same calendar: about 930 girls in the 1890s, about 2,630 in the 1910s, about 3,200 in the 1920s, then the long fade, decade by decade, to about 300 in the 1990s. Then the turn the other way: about 1,460 in the 2000s and about 3,700 in the 2010s, with about 2,600 so far this decade. A name the source declines to explain, a first run measured in two hemispheres, and a second American run, decades younger, still filling in its own pages.
The formal names behind Nola
Nola is an established short form of this name.
Magnolia · Latin origin · magnolia tree
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Nola peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
63 people · the #56,841 first name in Brazil · median age 7
The census also counted 23 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Nola
People given the name Nola in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 2019. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Nola deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Nola 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 Nola fits with your family’s names and surname.
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