Girls' name · since 1880
Nola
26,262 babies named Nola in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2020. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #897 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #821 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 26,262
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Yes -- Nola is the #821 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 26,262 recorded since 1880.
Nola has 26,262 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #821 as of the latest data, more common than 95% of girls, busiest in the 2010s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #897 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #821 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 26,262 born since 1880
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Nola ranks #897 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #821 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 26,262 born since 1880, peaking in the 2010s.
- #897 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #821 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 26,262
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Nola's 26,262 recorded births place it above 98.76% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
48 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Nola compares
26,262 Top 6% higher than 94% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Nola's all-time total is 70x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Nola | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 26,262 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 537 | 21 | 19,840 |
Nola's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Nola's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 44% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 56%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1880, with only 23 births recorded -- set against the 2020 peak of 537, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Nola popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2020)
- 537
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Nola popularity over time - boys
9 total births recorded since 1926 (Nola as boys' name)
Nola by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (3,696 births, 14% of the file).
2010s was Nola's strongest decade.
3,696 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 14% of all-time use.
Nola births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 424
1880s
424 births
- 1890s 929
1890s
929 births
- 1900s 1,334
1900s
1,334 births
- 1910s
1910s
2,630 births
- 1920s
1920s
3,163 births
- 1930s
1930s
3,001 births
- 1940s
1940s
2,475 births
- 1950s
1950s
2,183 births
- 1960s 1,130
1960s
1,130 births
- 1970s 516
1970s
516 births
- 1980s 422
1980s
422 births
- 1990s 305
1990s
305 births
- 2000s 1,461
2000s
1,461 births
- 2010s
2010s
3,696 births
- 2020s
2020s
2,593 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 3,696 births (14% of all-time use).
How Nola compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Nola's total volume
Nola by state
Where Nola concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 1,335 | 5.1% |
| #2 | California | | 1,264 | 4.8% |
| #3 | Tennessee | | 1,115 | 4.2% |
| #4 | Kentucky | | 1,107 | 4.2% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 852 | 3.2% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 848 | 3.2% |
| #7 | Louisiana | | 826 | 3.1% |
| #8 | North Carolina | | 774 | 2.9% |
1,335 of 26,262 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 48 reporting states.
Nola appears in 48 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Nola's data
- Nola's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (3,696 total births) through the 2020s (2,593) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Texas records the most Nolas (1,335 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Nola
Nearby Names Like Nola
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Nola
Compare Nola side by side: Nola vs Nolia Nola vs Nolan Nola vs Nollie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Nola
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Nola: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2020)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Nola draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.