Noreen
Noreen was given to 33 girls in 2025, #4,326 among girls’ names; 20,108 Americans have been recorded with it since 1892 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 13,400 Americans named Noreen and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (67% of everyone recorded); the median is 68 years old and half are between 60 and 76.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Noreen by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Noreen mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Noreen is “a female given name from Irish.” Its etymology gives the sense “Nora” (Nóra).
Also “a female given name from Arabic.”
Anglicized from Irish Nóirín (diminutive of Nóra (“Nora”)).
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Noreen?
#4,326 among girls’ names, 2025
Noreen rose from #5,258 in 2015 to #4,326 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 14.6 to 20.5 per million.
654 babies in 1948, the peak
Noreen peaked in 1948, when 654 girls were given it, #299 among girls’ names. The 33 births of 2025 are 5% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 33 | #4,326 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 18 | #6,580 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 21 | #5,894 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 32 | #4,440 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 23 | #5,515 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 23 | #5,440 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 28 | #4,869 | 0.02 |
| 2018 | 31 | #4,534 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 35 | #4,202 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 22 | #5,933 | 0.01 |
Every recorded year (123)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 26 | #5,258 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 31 | #4,623 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 19 | #6,657 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 25 | #5,518 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 20 | #6,505 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 21 | #6,328 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 28 | #5,192 | 0.02 |
| 2008 | 23 | #6,087 | 0.01 |
| 2007 | 19 | #7,019 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 22 | #6,075 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 23 | #5,555 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 18 | #6,686 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 29 | #4,496 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 22 | #5,402 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 28 | #4,410 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 15 | #7,054 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 26 | #4,412 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 25 | #4,461 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 33 | #3,514 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 33 | #3,479 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 28 | #3,845 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 32 | #3,507 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 35 | #3,265 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 45 | #2,713 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 38 | #3,019 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 43 | #2,722 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 44 | #2,593 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 33 | #3,072 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 54 | #2,054 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 51 | #2,099 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 57 | #1,939 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 62 | #1,763 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 65 | #1,697 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 74 | #1,596 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 72 | #1,626 | 0.04 |
| 1980 | 80 | #1,498 | 0.05 |
| 1979 | 67 | #1,674 | 0.04 |
| 1978 | 82 | #1,416 | 0.05 |
| 1977 | 76 | #1,460 | 0.05 |
| 1976 | 85 | #1,293 | 0.06 |
| 1975 | 81 | #1,340 | 0.06 |
| 1974 | 111 | #1,066 | 0.08 |
| 1973 | 115 | #1,022 | 0.08 |
| 1972 | 113 | #1,036 | 0.07 |
| 1971 | 171 | #816 | 0.10 |
| 1970 | 177 | #794 | 0.10 |
| 1969 | 236 | #648 | 0.14 |
| 1968 | 232 | #634 | 0.14 |
| 1967 | 288 | #556 | 0.17 |
| 1966 | 353 | #500 | 0.21 |
| 1965 | 434 | #458 | 0.25 |
| 1964 | 508 | #434 | 0.27 |
| 1963 | 549 | #410 | 0.28 |
| 1962 | 590 | #390 | 0.30 |
| 1961 | 586 | #401 | 0.29 |
| 1960 | 493 | #441 | 0.24 |
| 1959 | 502 | #426 | 0.25 |
| 1958 | 516 | #409 | 0.26 |
| 1957 | 505 | #412 | 0.25 |
| 1956 | 491 | #408 | 0.24 |
| 1955 | 603 | #352 | 0.31 |
| 1954 | 476 | #398 | 0.25 |
| 1953 | 507 | #379 | 0.27 |
| 1952 | 545 | #351 | 0.29 |
| 1951 | 494 | #360 | 0.27 |
| 1950 | 548 | #327 | 0.32 |
| 1949 | 619 | #313 | 0.36 |
| 1948 | 654 | #299 | 0.39 |
| 1947 | 574 | #331 | 0.32 |
| 1946 | 480 | #341 | 0.31 |
| 1945 | 439 | #329 | 0.34 |
| 1944 | 359 | #372 | 0.27 |
| 1943 | 400 | #358 | 0.29 |
| 1942 | 345 | #383 | 0.26 |
| 1941 | 257 | #427 | 0.21 |
| 1940 | 249 | #432 | 0.22 |
| 1939 | 241 | #435 | 0.22 |
| 1938 | 255 | #420 | 0.23 |
| 1937 | 283 | #387 | 0.27 |
| 1936 | 219 | #436 | 0.21 |
| 1935 | 218 | #439 | 0.21 |
| 1934 | 214 | #445 | 0.20 |
| 1933 | 209 | #450 | 0.21 |
| 1932 | 208 | #454 | 0.19 |
| 1931 | 197 | #461 | 0.19 |
| 1930 | 153 | #552 | 0.14 |
| 1929 | 177 | #508 | 0.16 |
| 1928 | 123 | #636 | 0.11 |
| 1927 | 129 | #630 | 0.11 |
| 1926 | 124 | #650 | 0.10 |
| 1925 | 120 | #678 | 0.10 |
| 1924 | 106 | #722 | 0.08 |
| 1923 | 90 | #772 | 0.07 |
| 1922 | 78 | #834 | 0.06 |
| 1921 | 84 | #801 | 0.07 |
| 1920 | 37 | #1,271 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 35 | #1,312 | 0.03 |
| 1918 | 55 | #976 | 0.05 |
| 1917 | 36 | #1,216 | 0.03 |
| 1916 | 52 | #957 | 0.05 |
| 1915 | 47 | #977 | 0.05 |
| 1914 | 37 | #981 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 21 | #1,264 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 14 | #1,521 | 0.03 |
| 1911 | 16 | #1,159 | 0.04 |
| 1909 | 11 | #1,350 | 0.03 |
| 1908 | 7 | #1,801 | 0.02 |
| 1907 | 8 | #1,603 | 0.03 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,887 | 0.02 |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,862 | 0.02 |
| 1904 | 5 | #2,088 | 0.02 |
| 1903 | 7 | #1,539 | 0.03 |
| 1892 | 5 | #1,603 | 0.02 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Noreen a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Noreen has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 123 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Noreen: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Noreen, and how old are they?
13,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 67% of the 20,108 Americans ever recorded as Noreen. The median Noreen alive today is 68 years old; half are between 60 and 76.
The 2020 Census counted 16,212 people named Noreen (16,196 women and girls, 16 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 14,941 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,580 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 7,920 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,470 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 743 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 373 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 340 |
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 Noreen born?
The states with the most babies named Noreen are New York, Illinois and Massachusetts, with 46% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Massachusetts is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 4,328 | #2,011 | 2.5× |
| Illinois | 1,607 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Massachusetts | 1,591 | not ranked | 2.6× |
| California | 1,524 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,494 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Michigan | 1,174 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| New Jersey | 1,107 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Ohio | 967 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Connecticut | 610 | not ranked | 2.3× |
| Wisconsin | 414 | not ranked | 0.9× |
Where Noreen is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Noreen is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 2.6 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 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 Noreen 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 20,169 babies since 1880, Noreen is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 33 of their 33 babies (100%), 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 Noreen
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 Noreen and names like it
- Compare Noreen and NorhanBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sNoreen peaked in 1948.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Noreen since 1910.
- Irish namesWiktionary’s origin for Noreen: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1948The year the most babies were named Noreen.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Noreen alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with NMost given first.