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 [ 2 syll. noe(l), no-el ] The boy name Noel is sometimes used as a girl name. Its pronunciation is NowEHL KEY. Noel is used chiefly in the Spanish, English, and German languages, and it is derived from Hebrew and Latin origins. From Hebrew and Latin roots, its meaning is born on Christmas - in this context, Noel is usually used in the English and German languages. Natalis (Latin) and Nouel (Old French) are old forms of Noel. The name is derived from 'noël' (Christmas), the French word for Christmas, and ultimately of the Latin 'natalis' (birthday) and 'natale domini' (birthday of the Lord). The name was traditionally given to babies born during the Christmas season. The name Natalie (English, French, and German) is the female form of Noel. Natal (Spanish), Natale (Italian), Noël (French), and Nowell (English) are variants of Noel. In addition, Noel is a variant of the name Noah (English, German, and Slavic) in the Spanish language. Noel is a classic favorite. At present it is still fairly popular as a baby name for boys, though not to the extent it was before. The name's popularity jumped from the 1900s up to the 1930s; before that, it was of occasional use only. At the modest peak of its usage in 1938, 0.037% of baby boys were given the name Noel. Its ranking then was #266. The baby name has since experienced a loss in popularity. In 2008, its usage was 0.027% and its ranking #468. Out of the group of boy names directly linked to Noel, Noah (English, German, and Slavic) was the most commonly used. In 2008, its use outnumbered Noel's by 27 times. Noel has predominantly been a boy name in the past century. In 1998, 93% more boys than girls were given the name Noel. Baby names that sound like Noel include Noël (French), Nahele (Hawaiian), Nala (Indian), Nelo (Spanish), Newly (English), Nial (English), Nilo (Finnish and Italian), Nilya (Russian), Nollie (English), Nowell (English), Nail (Arabic), Neal (English), Neale (English), Neel (Indian), Neil (Dutch, English, Irish, and Scottish), Neill (English), Nelio (Italian and Spanish), Niall (Irish and Scottish), Niel (English), and Niilo (Finnish). KEY: Pronunciation for Noel: N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; OW as in "oat (OW.T)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)"   |
