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Nolen

#2,381 in 2025Boys' name

Form of Nolan

Nolen has been given to 3,458 babies in the U.S. since 1892. In 2025 it ranked #2,381 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2009, with 110 recorded.

Babies named Nolen, 2025

1 in 57,200

Nolen over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Nolen: meaning, origin, and history

Form of Nolan

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Nolen means

Nolen is a form of Nolan.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Nolen → Nolan. The family’s meaning is “descendant of Nuallán”, recorded in English with the source elements Nualláin.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Nolan.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 3,448 boys were recorded with the name Nolen between 1892 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 110 in 2009; its best national rank was #924 in 1892.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #2,060 in 2020 to #2,381 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #1,749 in 2015 to #2,381 in 2025.

In the United States, 10 girls were recorded with the name Nolen between 2014 and 2023. Its highest annual count was 5 in 2014; its best national rank was #16,956 in 2023.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Nolen?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 57,200
58 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 29,400
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#2,381
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
39,620 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Nolen sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 39,620 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Nolen. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Nolens were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Nolen was born before 2003 — so the typical Nolen is around 22 today.

Median birth year
2003
About 22 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
24.4% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
53.2%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
2,544
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 24.4% of all recorded uses (841).

Is Nolen rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−47
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−321
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−632
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.66×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
52.7%
Peak was 2009 (110)
Years since peak
16
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
14.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#924
1892

Spellings of Nolen

Nolen is not the most common spelling — Allen is, with 17.9% against Nolen's 0.23%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Nolen is used

Across 2016–2025, Nolen was most concentrated in Alabama — about 1 in 10,000 boys, against 1 in 36,677 across all states with data. It was least common in Virginia (1 in 100,000).

110 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Alabama1 in 10,000
  2. 2Tennessee1 in 10,000
  3. 3North Carolina1 in 16,667
  4. 4Texas1 in 33,333
  5. 5Florida1 in 50,000
  6. 6Georgia1 in 50,000
  7. 7California1 in 100,000
  8. 8Michigan1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Nolen around the world

Where Nolen ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2016–2025
    #2,952
    in 2025
  • France
    2024–2024
    #5,864
    in 2024
  • Canada
    1999–2024
    #2,550
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    2010–2010
    #754
    in 2010

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Nolen by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,381
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 321
Best rank ever
#924
1892
Peak year
2009
110 that year
First recorded
1892
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,448
Count in 2025
58

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#16,956
2023
Peak year
2014
5 that year
First recorded
2014
Last recorded
2023
All-time count
10
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Nolen

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

RylenNolandNolynKalenCalenKylenTalenDalenTylenNolinArlenHarlenDaylenValenKallenHalenZaylenWaylenAlenTaylenDylenHelenRaylenOlen

Names with a curve like Nolen

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Nolen, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

LinusGraydonArminPresleyHadleyAlphaElderCliveDixonRansomHavenHazen

Sibling names for Nolen

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Nolen

Top names of 2009, Nolen's peak yearThe 2000s in fullOther names that peaked in 1892Boys' names starting with N