Nolan
Nolan was given to 4,846 boys in 2025, #65 among boys’ names; 136,061 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 127,000 Americans named Nolan and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (94% of everyone recorded); the median is 13 years old and half are between 7 and 22.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Nolan by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Nolan mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Nolan is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “descendant of Nuallán” (literally) and “chariot-fighter, champion” (nuall).
Anglicized from Irish Ó Nualláin (literally “descendant of Nuallán”), diminutive of nuall (“chariot-fighter, champion”).
/ˈnoʊlən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Nolan?
#65 among boys’ names, 2025
Nolan rose from #71 in 2015 to #65 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born fell from 3.0 to 2.8 per 1,000.
5,757 babies in 2015, the peak
Nolan peaked in 2015, when 5,757 babies were given it (5,739 boys, #71 among boys’ names). The 4,865 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 85% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,846 | #65 | 2.8 |
| 2024 | 4,900 | #64 | 2.8 |
| 2023 | 5,129 | #57 | 3.0 |
| 2022 | 4,928 | #65 | 2.8 |
| 2021 | 5,354 | #60 | 3.1 |
| 2020 | 5,200 | #61 | 3.0 |
| 2019 | 5,403 | #65 | 3.0 |
| 2018 | 5,629 | #65 | 3.1 |
| 2017 | 5,400 | #67 | 2.9 |
| 2016 | 5,634 | #67 | 3.0 |
Every recorded year (139)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5,739 | #71 | 3.0 |
| 2014 | 5,210 | #81 | 2.7 |
| 2013 | 4,745 | #86 | 2.5 |
| 2012 | 4,427 | #89 | 2.3 |
| 2011 | 4,169 | #92 | 2.2 |
| 2010 | 3,689 | #104 | 1.9 |
| 2009 | 3,437 | #122 | 1.7 |
| 2008 | 3,151 | #131 | 1.5 |
| 2007 | 3,171 | #133 | 1.5 |
| 2006 | 2,839 | #146 | 1.4 |
| 2005 | 2,719 | #149 | 1.4 |
| 2004 | 2,489 | #162 | 1.3 |
| 2003 | 2,217 | #175 | 1.1 |
| 2002 | 2,232 | #172 | 1.1 |
| 2001 | 2,093 | #180 | 1.1 |
| 2000 | 2,026 | #182 | 1.0 |
| 1999 | 1,623 | #211 | 0.85 |
| 1998 | 1,365 | #233 | 0.71 |
| 1997 | 1,311 | #236 | 0.70 |
| 1996 | 1,106 | #257 | 0.58 |
| 1995 | 1,066 | #263 | 0.56 |
| 1994 | 1,112 | #260 | 0.58 |
| 1993 | 1,143 | #250 | 0.58 |
| 1992 | 1,165 | #246 | 0.58 |
| 1991 | 1,054 | #257 | 0.52 |
| 1990 | 846 | #302 | 0.41 |
| 1989 | 617 | #365 | 0.31 |
| 1988 | 509 | #388 | 0.27 |
| 1987 | 480 | #396 | 0.26 |
| 1986 | 480 | #384 | 0.26 |
| 1985 | 478 | #379 | 0.26 |
| 1984 | 520 | #352 | 0.29 |
| 1983 | 449 | #379 | 0.25 |
| 1982 | 423 | #397 | 0.23 |
| 1981 | 393 | #418 | 0.22 |
| 1980 | 329 | #465 | 0.18 |
| 1979 | 262 | #521 | 0.15 |
| 1978 | 257 | #509 | 0.16 |
| 1977 | 218 | #569 | 0.13 |
| 1976 | 202 | #572 | 0.13 |
| 1975 | 201 | #569 | 0.13 |
| 1974 | 167 | #622 | 0.11 |
| 1973 | 175 | #595 | 0.11 |
| 1972 | 145 | #667 | 0.09 |
| 1971 | 199 | #581 | 0.11 |
| 1970 | 180 | #606 | 0.10 |
| 1969 | 158 | #629 | 0.09 |
| 1968 | 146 | #627 | 0.08 |
| 1967 | 126 | #668 | 0.07 |
| 1966 | 161 | #593 | 0.09 |
| 1965 | 112 | #704 | 0.06 |
| 1964 | 164 | #612 | 0.08 |
| 1963 | 155 | #628 | 0.08 |
| 1962 | 141 | #653 | 0.07 |
| 1961 | 165 | #619 | 0.08 |
| 1960 | 166 | #607 | 0.08 |
| 1959 | 185 | #577 | 0.09 |
| 1958 | 182 | #575 | 0.09 |
| 1957 | 185 | #568 | 0.09 |
| 1956 | 198 | #531 | 0.09 |
| 1955 | 199 | #517 | 0.10 |
| 1954 | 203 | #510 | 0.10 |
| 1953 | 190 | #513 | 0.10 |
| 1952 | 214 | #476 | 0.11 |
| 1951 | 189 | #493 | 0.10 |
| 1950 | 215 | #449 | 0.12 |
| 1949 | 219 | #451 | 0.12 |
| 1948 | 217 | #451 | 0.12 |
| 1947 | 198 | #476 | 0.11 |
| 1946 | 192 | #459 | 0.12 |
| 1945 | 174 | #450 | 0.13 |
| 1944 | 207 | #423 | 0.15 |
| 1943 | 207 | #436 | 0.15 |
| 1942 | 192 | #448 | 0.14 |
| 1941 | 176 | #441 | 0.14 |
| 1940 | 221 | #384 | 0.19 |
| 1939 | 205 | #398 | 0.19 |
| 1938 | 198 | #404 | 0.18 |
| 1937 | 183 | #419 | 0.17 |
| 1936 | 166 | #436 | 0.16 |
| 1935 | 188 | #399 | 0.18 |
| 1934 | 189 | #400 | 0.18 |
| 1933 | 167 | #425 | 0.17 |
| 1932 | 190 | #408 | 0.18 |
| 1931 | 156 | #450 | 0.15 |
| 1930 | 180 | #438 | 0.16 |
| 1929 | 142 | #492 | 0.13 |
| 1928 | 157 | #486 | 0.14 |
| 1927 | 174 | #464 | 0.15 |
| 1926 | 168 | #464 | 0.15 |
| 1925 | 161 | #479 | 0.14 |
| 1924 | 164 | #484 | 0.14 |
| 1923 | 177 | #460 | 0.16 |
| 1922 | 183 | #457 | 0.17 |
| 1921 | 191 | #446 | 0.17 |
| 1920 | 157 | #486 | 0.15 |
| 1919 | 149 | #490 | 0.15 |
| 1918 | 132 | #528 | 0.13 |
| 1917 | 149 | #468 | 0.16 |
| 1916 | 150 | #466 | 0.17 |
| 1915 | 118 | #514 | 0.14 |
| 1914 | 108 | #465 | 0.16 |
| 1913 | 90 | #458 | 0.18 |
| 1912 | 62 | #501 | 0.14 |
| 1911 | 32 | #529 | 0.14 |
| 1910 | 31 | #509 | 0.16 |
| 1909 | 28 | #494 | 0.17 |
| 1908 | 16 | #675 | 0.10 |
| 1907 | 23 | #491 | 0.16 |
| 1906 | 20 | #514 | 0.15 |
| 1905 | 17 | #584 | 0.13 |
| 1904 | 18 | #531 | 0.14 |
| 1903 | 10 | #765 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 15 | #577 | 0.12 |
| 1901 | 11 | #668 | 0.10 |
| 1900 | 16 | #642 | 0.11 |
| 1899 | 10 | #695 | 0.09 |
| 1898 | 5 | #1,250 | 0.04 |
| 1897 | 12 | #634 | 0.11 |
| 1896 | 9 | #811 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 8 | #848 | 0.07 |
| 1894 | 12 | #619 | 0.10 |
| 1893 | 9 | #744 | 0.08 |
| 1892 | 10 | #734 | 0.08 |
| 1889 | 5 | #1,067 | 0.05 |
| 1887 | 9 | #665 | 0.09 |
| 1886 | 5 | #1,064 | 0.05 |
| 1884 | 7 | #824 | 0.06 |
| 1881 | 5 | #969 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Nolan a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Nolan has been given almost only to boys: 556 girls in 139 years of records.
Girls and boys named Nolan: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Nolan, and how old are they?
127,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 94% of the 136,061 Americans ever recorded as Nolan. The median Nolan alive today is 13 years old; half are between 7 and 22.
The 2020 Census counted 94,520 people named Nolan (392 women and girls, 94,128 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 99,809 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 669 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,330 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,700 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 11,400 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 42,500 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 68,000 |
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 Nolan born?
The states with the most babies named Nolan are Texas, California and Florida, with 23% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 439 | #89 | 0.8× |
| California | 424 | #94 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 256 | #78 | 0.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 251 | #41 | 1.1× |
| New York | 240 | #70 | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 220 | #45 | 1.2× |
| Georgia | 189 | #47 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 187 | #56 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 172 | #60 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 136 | #63 | 1.4× |
Where Nolan is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Nolan is most over-represented in Wisconsin: since 1910 it was given 1.6 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 boys’ 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 Nolan 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 7 names spelled alike, given to 141,402 babies since 1880, Nolan is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 4,865 of their 4,970 babies (98%), 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 Nolan
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 Nolan and names like it
- Compare Nolan and NolenBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sNolan peaked in 2015.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Nolan since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Nolan: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2015The year the most babies were named Nolan.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Nolan alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with NMost given first.