Nola
Nola was given to 331 girls in 2025, #822 among girls’ names; 26,271 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 13,700 Americans named Nola and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (52% of everyone recorded); the median is 19 years old and half are between 8 and 69.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nola by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Nola mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Nola is “a female given name from Irish.”
From Finola, from Irish Fionnghuala. In the US, also under the influence of the male name Nolan (which see).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Nola?
#822 among girls’ names, 2025
Nola fell from #770 in 2015 to #822 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born held at 0.21 per 1,000.
537 babies in 2020, the peak
Nola peaked in 2020, when 537 girls were given it, #553 among girls’ names. The 331 births of 2025 are 62% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 331 | #822 | 0.21 |
| 2024 | 369 | #765 | 0.23 |
| 2023 | 381 | #740 | 0.24 |
| 2022 | 472 | #627 | 0.29 |
| 2021 | 503 | #596 | 0.31 |
| 2020 | 537 | #553 | 0.33 |
| 2019 | 500 | #607 | 0.30 |
| 2018 | 461 | #643 | 0.27 |
| 2017 | 379 | #744 | 0.22 |
| 2016 | 350 | #821 | 0.20 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 368 | #770 | 0.21 |
| 2014 | 348 | #804 | 0.19 |
| 2013 | 350 | #776 | 0.20 |
| 2012 | 334 | #805 | 0.19 |
| 2011 | 292 | #894 | 0.17 |
| 2010 | 314 | #857 | 0.18 |
| 2009 | 280 | #957 | 0.15 |
| 2008 | 299 | #917 | 0.16 |
| 2007 | 257 | #1,029 | 0.13 |
| 2006 | 202 | #1,203 | 0.11 |
| 2005 | 104 | #1,871 | 0.06 |
| 2004 | 86 | #2,108 | 0.05 |
| 2003 | 80 | #2,178 | 0.04 |
| 2002 | 59 | #2,628 | 0.03 |
| 2001 | 44 | #3,182 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 50 | #2,885 | 0.03 |
| 1999 | 37 | #3,419 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 31 | #3,801 | 0.02 |
| 1997 | 36 | #3,280 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 34 | #3,407 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 29 | #3,742 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 32 | #3,506 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 32 | #3,482 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 25 | #4,183 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 25 | #4,161 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 24 | #4,187 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 37 | #2,963 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 24 | #3,861 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 38 | #2,641 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 30 | #3,106 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 34 | #2,783 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 42 | #2,327 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 61 | #1,766 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 65 | #1,732 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 53 | #2,001 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 38 | #2,520 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 58 | #1,852 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 62 | #1,703 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 65 | #1,629 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 47 | #1,928 | 0.03 |
| 1975 | 40 | #2,153 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 39 | #2,121 | 0.03 |
| 1973 | 33 | #2,337 | 0.02 |
| 1972 | 37 | #2,120 | 0.02 |
| 1971 | 69 | #1,485 | 0.04 |
| 1970 | 66 | #1,513 | 0.04 |
| 1969 | 80 | #1,254 | 0.05 |
| 1968 | 68 | #1,361 | 0.04 |
| 1967 | 65 | #1,368 | 0.04 |
| 1966 | 99 | #1,054 | 0.06 |
| 1965 | 92 | #1,094 | 0.05 |
| 1964 | 137 | #889 | 0.07 |
| 1963 | 118 | #981 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 148 | #868 | 0.08 |
| 1961 | 155 | #855 | 0.08 |
| 1960 | 168 | #793 | 0.08 |
| 1959 | 252 | #627 | 0.12 |
| 1958 | 144 | #852 | 0.07 |
| 1957 | 159 | #803 | 0.08 |
| 1956 | 206 | #669 | 0.10 |
| 1955 | 195 | #670 | 0.10 |
| 1954 | 236 | #588 | 0.12 |
| 1953 | 255 | #544 | 0.14 |
| 1952 | 240 | #558 | 0.13 |
| 1951 | 249 | #528 | 0.14 |
| 1950 | 247 | #520 | 0.14 |
| 1949 | 223 | #557 | 0.13 |
| 1948 | 210 | #579 | 0.12 |
| 1947 | 252 | #527 | 0.14 |
| 1946 | 222 | #527 | 0.14 |
| 1945 | 231 | #473 | 0.18 |
| 1944 | 245 | #459 | 0.18 |
| 1943 | 291 | #431 | 0.21 |
| 1942 | 263 | #457 | 0.19 |
| 1941 | 279 | #411 | 0.23 |
| 1940 | 259 | #425 | 0.23 |
| 1939 | 273 | #408 | 0.25 |
| 1938 | 337 | #350 | 0.31 |
| 1937 | 294 | #378 | 0.28 |
| 1936 | 300 | #367 | 0.29 |
| 1935 | 286 | #375 | 0.27 |
| 1934 | 307 | #360 | 0.29 |
| 1933 | 281 | #384 | 0.28 |
| 1932 | 301 | #370 | 0.28 |
| 1931 | 300 | #371 | 0.28 |
| 1930 | 322 | #382 | 0.29 |
| 1929 | 328 | #372 | 0.29 |
| 1928 | 330 | #376 | 0.29 |
| 1927 | 361 | #359 | 0.30 |
| 1926 | 268 | #417 | 0.23 |
| 1925 | 279 | #415 | 0.23 |
| 1924 | 320 | #379 | 0.26 |
| 1923 | 312 | #375 | 0.26 |
| 1922 | 335 | #361 | 0.28 |
| 1921 | 324 | #374 | 0.26 |
| 1920 | 306 | #379 | 0.26 |
| 1919 | 343 | #348 | 0.30 |
| 1918 | 390 | #325 | 0.34 |
| 1917 | 307 | #358 | 0.28 |
| 1916 | 301 | #355 | 0.29 |
| 1915 | 320 | #334 | 0.33 |
| 1914 | 227 | #350 | 0.30 |
| 1913 | 205 | #337 | 0.33 |
| 1912 | 211 | #316 | 0.38 |
| 1911 | 168 | #307 | 0.40 |
| 1910 | 158 | #306 | 0.40 |
| 1909 | 172 | #275 | 0.50 |
| 1908 | 144 | #295 | 0.43 |
| 1907 | 142 | #294 | 0.45 |
| 1906 | 125 | #298 | 0.42 |
| 1905 | 127 | #296 | 0.44 |
| 1904 | 140 | #266 | 0.51 |
| 1903 | 131 | #271 | 0.50 |
| 1902 | 131 | #272 | 0.50 |
| 1901 | 93 | #313 | 0.39 |
| 1900 | 129 | #289 | 0.43 |
| 1899 | 106 | #283 | 0.45 |
| 1898 | 122 | #278 | 0.47 |
| 1897 | 74 | #342 | 0.32 |
| 1896 | 108 | #280 | 0.45 |
| 1895 | 111 | #266 | 0.48 |
| 1894 | 118 | #254 | 0.53 |
| 1893 | 90 | #279 | 0.42 |
| 1892 | 62 | #337 | 0.29 |
| 1891 | 78 | #285 | 0.42 |
| 1890 | 60 | #327 | 0.32 |
| 1889 | 69 | #288 | 0.39 |
| 1888 | 54 | #329 | 0.30 |
| 1887 | 55 | #288 | 0.38 |
| 1886 | 51 | #289 | 0.35 |
| 1885 | 39 | #328 | 0.29 |
| 1884 | 34 | #338 | 0.26 |
| 1883 | 30 | #329 | 0.27 |
| 1882 | 37 | #292 | 0.34 |
| 1881 | 32 | #282 | 0.35 |
| 1880 | 23 | #340 | 0.25 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Nola a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Nola has been given almost only to girls: 9 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Nola: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nola, and how old are they?
13,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 52% of the 26,271 Americans ever recorded as Nola. The median Nola alive today is 19 years old; half are between 8 and 69.
The 2020 Census counted 12,273 people named Nola (12,182 women and girls, 91 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 12,671 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,480 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,910 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 884 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 568 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,480 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 5,320 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Nola born?
The states with the most babies named Nola are Texas, North Carolina and Georgia, with 21% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 23 | #1,182 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 20 | #556 | 1.0× |
| Georgia | 18 | #604 | 0.6× |
| New York | 17 | #938 | 0.3× |
| California | 16 | #1,464 | 0.7× |
| Missouri | 15 | #414 | 1.3× |
| Michigan | 13 | #630 | 0.8× |
| Virginia | 12 | #650 | 0.7× |
| Florida | 11 | #1,311 | 0.5× |
| Louisiana | 10 | #468 | 1.8× |
Where Nola is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Nola is most over-represented in Kentucky: since 1910 it was given 2.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Nola with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 39,555 babies since 1880, Nola is the most given (66% of them). In 2025 it was given to 331 of their 657 babies (50%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Nola
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Nola and names like it
- Compare Nola and NoeliaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2020sNola peaked in 2020.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nola since 1910.
- Irish namesWiktionary’s origin for Nola: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2020The year the most babies were named Nola.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Nola alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with NMost given first.