Noel

Did you know?

A few things about Noel you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Noel

Noel Gallagher

British singer and guitarist

Choose Noel and your child shares a first name with Noel Gallagher, a British singer and guitarist. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Noel, like who?” Noel Gallagher's Wikipedia article is available in 61 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Noel Gallagher on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 2,690 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Noel, 635 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Noel would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryNoel has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Noels, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1938, when it reached #266.
• 🍂TrendNoel has slipped 62 places over the last five years and now sits at #478. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedNoel is most popular in California, where it ranks #293, followed by Texas (#314) and Nevada (#389). It's in the top 1,000 in 26 states.
• ⚖️Boy or girlNoel is given to both boys and girls: 80% of the 792 babies named Noel in 2025 were boys. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningIn French, Noel means “Christmas”. Our records link it to French and Latin roots.

About the name Noel

Noel is a gender-neutral name of French and Latin origin meaning “Christmas”. It has 4 letters and 1 syllable, starting with N and ending in “-oel”. US birth records list Noel for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1938, when it ranked #266 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #478, with 635 babies. Of the 792 US babies named Noel in 2025, 20% were girls and 80% were boys.

Origin:French namesLatin names