How Many People Are Named Noel?
An estimated 53,852 people in the United States have the first name Noel. It is used for both genders, with 77.3% male. The average bearer is 36 years old, and Noel peaked in popularity in 2014 with 1,107 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Noel as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Noel paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
53,852
About 1 in 6,365 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
77.3% confidence
Average Age
36
years old
Peak Year
2014
1,107 births
Total Registered
66,576
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Noel
Noel is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (77.3%) and females (22.7%). Out of 66,576 total births registered, 51,456 were male and 15,120 were female.
Noel as a male name
Ranked #434 in 2024
728 male births in 2024
Peak: 2014 (901 births)
Noel as a female name
Ranked #1,490 in 2024
146 female births in 2024
Peak: 1987 (336 births)
Noel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Noel span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 9,476 babies were registered. While Noel is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Noel by Decade
How has Noel tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 95 | 95 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 155 | 155 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 307 | 302 | 5 | |
| 1910s | 1,481 | 1,378 | 103 | |
| 1920s | 2,299 | 2,115 | 184 | |
| 1930s | 3,762 | 3,298 | 464 | |
| 1940s | 4,456 | 3,541 | 915 | |
| 1950s | 4,551 | 3,646 | 905 | |
| 1960s | 5,952 | 4,664 | 1,288 | |
| 1970s | 6,943 | 5,136 | 1,807 | |
| 1980s | 7,267 | 4,773 | 2,494 | |
| 1990s | 7,658 | 5,271 | 2,387 | |
| 2000s | 7,687 | 5,813 | 1,874 | |
| 2010s | 9,476 | 7,612 | 1,864 | |
| 2020s | 4,487 | 3,657 | 830 | |
Noel by State
Birth registrations for Noel span all 48 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in New Hampshire, Alaska, Maine. On average, about 1,158 Noels were registered per state.
Noel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Noel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Noel
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
Noel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Noel?
We estimate approximately 53,852 people named Noel are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 6,365 Americans share this first name.
Is Noel a common name?
Noel is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 66,576 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Noel most popular?
Noel reached peak popularity in 2014, when 1,107 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Noel is approximately 36 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Noel a male name?
Noel is predominantly male. 77.3% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Noel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Noel Smith, Noel Johnson, Noel Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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