# Noel (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/noel/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname originating as a patronymic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 31,768 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,103 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 9,719 people |
| Change since 2000 | +12% (28,401 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈnəʊ(ə)l/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Noyal |

## Etymology

* (names): From Noel in the sense of Christmas; given since Middle Ages to children born at Christmastide. * (city in Missouri): Named for brothers Clark Wallace and William Jasper Noel, stockmen and owners of a sawmill. * (community of Nova Scotia, Canada): Named after its most prominent resident, Noël Doiron.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Noel in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 60% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 34% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 1.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Noel in the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain.

## People named Noel

- Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, British athlete, politician, Cabinet minister, life peer and Nobel Peace Prize winner (188
- Nerlens Noel, American basketball player (born 1994)
- Iván Noel, Argentinian film director and screenwriter
- David Noel, American basketball player (born 1984)
- Edmond Noel, American politician (1856-1927)
- Chris Noel, American actor, model, DJ, USO entertainer

## Similar surnames

Neal, Noll, Neil, Neel, Nell, Noell, Nolley, Nola, Nowell, Newell, Neely, Neill.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.