Top 70 US name Boys' name Peak 2015 130,624 births

Nolan — #64 US boys' name

130,624 babies named Nolan in U.S. Social Security records since 1881, with the highest year being 2015. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s311890s751900s1741910s10211920s16741930s18221940s20041950s19601960s14931970s20061980s46791990s117902000s263722010s500382020s25485
#64
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.6% of names given to boys today.

2010s
Peak decade

38% of everyone ever named Nolan was born in this single decade.

2015
Single peak year

5,739 babies were named Nolan in 2015 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Nolan

The Social Security Administration has registered 130,624 babies named Nolan between 1881 and 2024, spanning 144 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Nolan currently holds the #64 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 2015, when 5,739 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Nolan performed strongest in the 2010s, accumulating 50,038 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Nolan shows notable generational variation in parental adoption. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 12,449 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Illinois. In total, SSA state-level files list Nolan in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Nolan in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 130,624 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Nolan at a glance

Top 100 boys' name

Total births

130,624

Since 1881

144 years of records

Peak year

2015

5,739 births that year

Strongest decade: 2010s

Current rank

#64

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1881

Recorded for 144 years

Last year on file: 2024

Nolan popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1881

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (2015)
5,739
Annual births at peak — across 144 years of records
-2,00002,0004,0006,0008,000 202420061988197019521934191618981881 5

Nolan popularity over time — girls

536 total births recorded since 1911 (Nolan as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 536 births
010203040 202420192014200920041996198619161911 5

Nolan by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 2010s
Peak decade
2010s
50,038 births that decade — 38% of Nolan's all-time total
1880s311890s751900s1741910s10211920s16741930s18221940s20041950s19601960s14931970s20061980s46791990s117902000s263722010s500382020s25485

Nolan by state

Where Nolan concentrates geographically — total births since 1881

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Nolan
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
12,449 9.5%
#2 Texas
9,621 7.4%
#3 Illinois
6,104 4.7%
#4 Ohio
6,006 4.6%
#5 Michigan
5,981 4.6%
#6 Pennsylvania
5,767 4.4%
#7 New York
4,988 3.8%
#8 Florida
4,499 3.4%
California share of Nolan's total US births 9.5%
Even split

12,449 of 130,624 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Nolan appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Nolan?
130,624 babies have been named Nolan since 1881. It currently ranks #64 among boys. The peak year was 2015 with 5,739 births.
When was Nolan most popular?
Nolan was most popular in the 2010s decade with 50,038 total births. The single peak year was 2015.
Where is Nolan most popular?
The top states for the name Nolan are California (12,449 births), Texas (9,621 births), Illinois (6,104 births).
How long has the name Nolan been used?
Nolan has been recorded in Social Security data since 1881, spanning 144 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Nolan?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Nolen, Noland, Nolyn, Nolberto, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Nolan

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1881–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.