Nolan Name Meaning

An Irish name with a splash of style, Nolan has always appeared in the U.S. Top 1000. He’s been growing in popularity in recent years, rising alongside other Irish picks like Connor and the mega-popular Liam. A sweet name with happy-go-lucky vibes, Nolan is the perfect name for a little boy.

He’s an unexpected alternative to the chart-topper Noah, a name that works well with many of today’s styles. He’s a surname pick with place name roots as well, the perfect choice for a trendsetter looking to not go too far outside the norm. He used to be much rarer, but his uptick in usage has the upside of making him a familiar friend who avoids spelling and pronunciation issues.

A popular name among sports stars, Nolan is a great pick for an active baby. He’s a natural athlete with cool vibes, wearing well on the field. He’s always looking for a new adventure, right at home playing pirates in the sandbox or going fishing with friends.

Nolan is a great pick for parents that dislike nicknames, as he doesn’t have any natural shortened forms to contend with. While he does have a soft sound, he matures with ease into adulthood and fits in the workplace.

Infographic of Nolan name meaning, which is Derived from O Nuallain, Nolan is an Irish name meaning child of nobility.
Ask your friends & family about Nolan…

Nolan Name Popularity

How popular is the name Nolan? Here’s everything we know.

Year Rank # Births % Births
1910 — 11 0.0031%
1911 — 8 0.0021%
1912 — 39 0.0077%
1913 — 49 0.0086%
1914 — 58 0.0083%
1915 — 83 0.0091%
1916 — 113 0.0117%
1917 — 101 0.0101%
1918 — 86 0.008%
1919 — 108 0.0103%
1920 — 127 0.0114%
1921 — 146 0.0128%
1922 — 138 0.0124%
1923 — 135 0.0121%
1924 — 122 0.0105%
1925 — 103 0.0091%
1926 — 125 0.0114%
1927 — 133 0.012%
1928 — 111 0.0104%
1929 — 100 0.0097%
1930 — 147 0.0141%
1931 — 108 0.0109%
1932 — 138 0.014%
1933 — 121 0.013%
1934 — 138 0.0143%
1935 — 140 0.0144%
1936 — 103 0.0107%
1937 — 135 0.0137%
1938 — 149 0.0146%
1939 — 150 0.0147%
1940 — 171 0.0161%
1941 — 118 0.0105%
1942 — 151 0.012%
1943 — 156 0.0119%
1944 — 143 0.0115%
1945 — 113 0.0093%
1946 — 146 0.0099%
1947 — 146 0.0087%
1948 — 176 0.011%
1949 — 156 0.0097%
1950 — 159 0.0099%
1951 — 124 0.0073%
1952 — 160 0.0092%
1953 — 134 0.0076%
1954 — 142 0.0078%
1955 — 134 0.0073%
1956 — 152 0.008%
1957 — 126 0.0065%
1958 — 119 0.0063%
1959 — 118 0.0062%
1960 — 107 0.0056%
1961 — 98 0.0052%
1962 — 84 0.0046%
1963 — 95 0.0053%
1964 — 103 0.0059%
1965 — 62 0.0038%
1966 — 100 0.0064%
1967 — 85 0.0056%
1968 — 93 0.0062%
1969 — 92 0.006%
1970 — 118 0.0074%
1971 — 132 0.0088%
1972 — 83 0.0061%
1973 — 109 0.0084%
1974 — 82 0.0063%
1975 — 141 0.011%
1976 — 138 0.0107%
1977 — 142 0.0105%
1978 — 191 0.0142%
1979 — 194 0.0138%
1980 — 274 0.0187%
1981 — 340 0.0231%
1982 — 381 0.0255%
1983 — 407 0.0276%
1984 — 492 0.0331%
1985 — 456 0.03%
1986 — 423 0.028%
1987 — 441 0.0289%
1988 — 474 0.0304%
1989 — 574 0.0356%
1990 — 824 0.0497%
1991 — 1,026 0.0629%
1992 — 1,119 0.0701%
1993 — 1,130 0.0725%
1994 — 1,087 0.0708%
1995 — 1,035 0.0687%
1996 — 1,081 0.0722%
1997 — 1,291 0.0873%
1998 — 1,341 0.0896%
1999 — 1,610 0.1075%
2000 — 2,015 0.1319%
2001 — 2,080 0.138%
2002 — 2,211 0.1475%
2003 — 2,206 0.145%
2004 — 2,474 0.1623%
2005 — 2,708 0.1771%
2006 — 2,832 0.1809%
2007 — 3,166 0.2007%
2008 — 3,146 0.2035%
2009 — 3,432 0.2296%
2010 — 3,684 0.2556%
2011 — 4,165 0.2923%
2012 — 4,418 0.31%
2013 — 4,741 0.333%
2014 — 5,201 0.357%
2015 — 5,731 0.3939%
2016 — 5,625 0.3901%
2017 — 5,375 0.3851%
2018 — 5,607 0.4081%
2019 — 5,384 0.3977%
2020 — 5,042 0.3961%
2021 — 5,319 0.4351%
2022 — 4,790 0.3631%
2023 — 5,123 0.3958%

Alaska (AK)

Alabama (AL)

Arkansas (AR)

Arizona (AZ)

California (CA)

Colorado (CO)

Connecticut (CT)

District of Columbia (DC)

Delaware (DE)

Florida (FL)

Georgia (GA)

Hawaii (HI)

Iowa (IA)

Idaho (ID)

Illinois (IL)

Indiana (IN)

Kansas (KS)

Kentucky (KY)

Louisiana (LA)

Massachusetts (MA)

Maryland (MD)

Maine (ME)

Michigan (MI)

Minnesota (MN)

Missouri (MO)

Mississippi (MS)

Montana (MT)

North Carolina (NC)

North Dakota (ND)

Nebraska (NE)

New Hampshire (NH)

New Jersey (NJ)

New Mexico (NM)

Nevada (NV)

New York (NY)

Ohio (OH)

Oklahoma (OK)

Oregon (OR)

Pennsylvania (PA)

Rhode Island (RI)

South Carolina (SC)

South Dakota (SD)

Tennessee (TN)

Texas (TX)

Utah (UT)

Virginia (VA)

Vermont (VT)

Washington (WA)

Wisconsin (WI)

West Virginia (WV)

Wyoming (WY)

Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Nolan

If you like Nolan, you’ll love these other names like Nolan.

What names are diminutives of Nolan?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Nolan sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Nolan, but shorter.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Noa

Movement

Hebrew

Noah

To rest

Hebrew

Noe

Peaceful

Hebrew

What names are variants of Nolan?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Nolan.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Noland

Champion

Irish

Nolen

Champion

Irish

Nolin

Champion

Irish

Nollan

Champion

Irish

Nolyn

Champion

Irish

What names sound like Nolan?

If you like how Nolan sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Nolan.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Colin

Cub

English

Nalin

Lotus

Indian (Sanskrit)

Neilan

Champion

Irish

Noam

Beautiful, good-looking

Hebrew

Noble

Aristocratic

Latin

Noel

Christmas

French

Norbert

Northern brightness

German

Norman

Northerner

German

Norris

Northerner

French

North

North

English

Norton

Northern town

German

Novak

New

Hungarian

What names are similar to Nolan?

Find a name that’s like Nolan, but just a little bit different.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Aiden

Little fire

Irish

Ciaran

Black

Irish

Conner

Dog lover

Irish

Jasper

Treasurer

English

Killian

Church

Irish

Liam

Helmet of will

Irish

Patrick

Nobleman

Latin

Preston

Priest's town

English

Ronan

Little seal

Irish

Stellan

Star

American

Lists With Nolan

Find inspiration in these baby boy name lists featuring the name Nolan.

Siblings of Nolan

Mamas with kids named Nolan also have kids with these names.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Wesley

Western meadow

English

Alessandra

Defender of man

Italian

23 Comments

  1. I love how strong and solid this name seemed, and it means champion, plus I had a 5 letter name rule!!

    Reply

  2. We chose the name Nolan for its meaning. Nolan is of Irish origins and it means champion.
    We paired it with dad’s name, Aaron.
    I love that the name is short and sweet.

    Reply

  3. It means champion. Hopefully help him get through this tough life!

    Reply

  4. I chose Nolan James because my father is deceased and his middle name was James.

    Reply

  5. 1. Only name my spouse and I could agree on.
    2. My reasoning for choosing the name is for its significance of Champion, Famous, Popular and Noble

    Reply

  6. Me and my husband picked the name Nolan for my mother in law when she passed away. Nolan was her daddy’s name.

    We love the name Nolan because it’s a very strong name and we named him after my mother in law father.

    Nolan has been a wonderful baby. Me and my husband are over the moon. We love him very much!!

    Reply

  7. My husband Ross was the one that originally suggested Nolan. I didn’t mind it but it wasn’t my first pick. It came down to 2 names and after finally seeing his face, we knew Nolan was meant to be.

    Reply

  8. I thought of the name Nolan in the middle of the night one night when I was about seven months pregnant. I woke my husband up and asked him if he liked the name. He said he loved it. He loved it even more when I told him the meaning – in Gaelic it means descendent of a chariot fighter or champion. It also means “noble”. We waited until we had our baby to make a final decision on a name (we didn’t know it we were having a boy or a girl) but once he arrived we both knew he was a Nolan and we absolutely love the name!

    Reply

  9. We found the name after watching movie credits and the name just stuck. After we decided we saw the name on random cars we drove by, we saw it as a sign that we keep the name.

    Reply

  10. My first son is Noah. His nickname was NoNo.
    We wanted to keep the same flow. We liked the meaning of Nolan, and want to nickname him Nolie.

    Reply

  11. We loved the name after hearing on the show Revenge years ago. We both have Irish descent and it is an Irish name meaning “champion”

    Reply

  12. We liked the sound and look of it written. Worked well with the middle name we wanted, James.

    Reply

  13. We were wanting an Irish name to go with our first sons name, Callum. When I saw the meaning was champion it felt right due to this baby being born in 2020 and us having a more difficult pregnancy.

    Reply

  14. Nolan is based off a family name Nole — grandparent. Love them name and him <3

    Reply

  15. I think the name Nolan is strong yet soft. It can be spelled easily even though it is fairly unique. And I think it’s cute for young kids and transitions well into an adult name.

    Reply

  16. I chose Nolan because it’s close to his oldest brother name Noah, and It worked out great I love Nolan name I don’t have anything to say on the dislike about Nolan name

    Reply

  17. We didn’t have any ties or commitments to a family name, so we simply picked one we liked. My husband and I equally liked Nolan from the beginning. My background is Irish, so I like having the Irish/celtic ties since he has my husband’s last name.

    Reply

  18. We loved the meaning of the name: “champion.”
    With his middle name, Christopher, his full name means, “champion in Christ.” We also loved that it was unique but not too off the beaten path.

    Reply

  19. My husband heard of
    The name from the baseball player Nolan Ryan and he just really liked it. It grew on me throughout my pregnancy and I love it now too.

    Reply

  20. It’s my maternal grandmother’s maiden name.

    Reply

    • It’s my maternal grandmothers maiden name too!!!

      Reply

    • The name nolan is perfect for my dad I think I might name my son after him and I think for a nickname we can call him noal

      Reply

  21. I chose to use the name “Nolan” after my favorite baseball player: Nolan Ryan.
    I like that it’s a name I don’t hear very often.

    Reply

Share your thoughts on the name Nolan

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required *

*