# Nolan (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/nolan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Irish |
| Meaning | “descendant of nuallán”, “chariot-fighter”, “champion” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈnoʊlən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 136,061 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 135,505 / 556 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,225, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Anglicized from Irish Ó Nualláin (literally “descendant of Nuallán”), diminutive of nuall (“chariot-fighter, champion”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 16 | 7,699 |
| 2012 | 12 | 9,564 |
| 2013 | 14 | 8,457 |
| 2014 | 20 | 6,383 |
| 2015 | 18 | 6,915 |
| 2016 | 23 | 5,750 |
| 2017 | 28 | 4,897 |
| 2018 | 29 | 4,743 |
| 2019 | 36 | 4,055 |
| 2020 | 28 | 4,727 |
| 2021 | 35 | 4,152 |
| 2022 | 27 | 4,995 |
| 2023 | 34 | 4,259 |
| 2024 | 29 | 4,741 |
| 2025 | 19 | 6,272 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4,169 | 92 |
| 2012 | 4,427 | 89 |
| 2013 | 4,745 | 86 |
| 2014 | 5,210 | 81 |
| 2015 | 5,739 | 71 |
| 2016 | 5,634 | 67 |
| 2017 | 5,400 | 67 |
| 2018 | 5,629 | 65 |
| 2019 | 5,403 | 65 |
| 2020 | 5,200 | 61 |
| 2021 | 5,354 | 60 |
| 2022 | 4,928 | 65 |
| 2023 | 5,129 | 57 |
| 2024 | 4,900 | 64 |
| 2025 | 4,846 | 65 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 20 | 1,251 |
| 2012 | 23 | 1,152 |
| 2013 | 41 | 771 |
| 2014 | 37 | 825 |
| 2015 | 64 | 577 |
| 2016 | 69 | 554 |
| 2017 | 64 | 587 |
| 2018 | 72 | 535 |
| 2019 | 71 | 535 |
| 2020 | 66 | 559 |
| 2021 | 101 | 421 |
| 2022 | 92 | 439 |
| 2023 | 112 | 366 |
| 2024 | 136 | 323 |
| 2025 | 159 | 283 |

## People named Nolan

- Nolan Bushnell, American entrepreneur (born 1943)
- Nolan Gould, American actor
- Nolan North, American voice actor (born 1970)
- Nolan Gerard Funk, Canadian actor, singer and model
- Nolan Roux, French association football player
- Nolan Ryan, American baseball player (born 1947)
- Nolan Smith, American basketball player (born 1988)
- Nolan Mbemba, Congolese and French footballer
- Nolan Traoré, French basketball player (born 2006)
- Nolan Kasper, American alpine skier
- Nolan Pratt, Canadian ice hockey defenceman
- Nolan Sotillo, actor

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.