Given name & surname · also Irish
Nolan
“a champion of the people”
Nolan is used as a given name and a surname. One Irish interpretation is “a champion of the people.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Irish interpretation is “a champion of the people.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Irish.
How it developed
From Irish Ó Nualláin (“descendant of Nuallán”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1881. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Nolan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 136,061
- 135,505 boys · 556 girls
- Most popular year
- 2015
- 5,757 babies
- 2025
- 4,865
- #65 for boys · #6,272 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 4,846 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 65 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 7.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 5,739 in 2015. It also appeared in 19 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (439). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 94,520 as a first name in 2020; 43,879 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Nolan’s family of names
Nolan has a feminine form in Nola. Nolan has a related form in Nolen. Nolan has a related form in Noland.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Nolenvariant
- Nolynvariant
- Nolandvariant
- Nolinvariant
- Nolynnvariant
- Nolonvariant
- Nolenevariant
- Nolanavariant
Show 5 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Nolan
- Nolan BushnellAmerican entrepreneur (born 1943)
- Nolan GouldAmerican actorborn 1998
- Nolan NorthAmerican voice actor (born 1970)
- Nolan RouxFrench association football playerborn 1988
- Nolan Gerard FunkCanadian actor, singer and modelborn 1986
- Nolan ArenadoPuerto Rican-American baseball playerborn 1991
- Nolan SmithAmerican basketball player (born 1988)
- Nolan MbembaCongolese and French footballerborn 1995
- Nolan Patrickice hockey playerborn 1998
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Nolan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Owen
“born of Esos”
>99% boys
Declan
In Irish use, Declan is used as a form of Gaelic.
99% boys · 1% girls
Logan
“from the hollow” · “from the little hollow”
91% boys · 9% girls
Callan
“one who is powerful in battle” · “a talkative woman”
95% boys · 5% girls
Evan
“God is gracious”
98% boys · 2% girls
Bryson
“the son of Brice”
>99% boys
Carson
“from the swamp” · “the son of a marsh dweller”
96% boys · 4% girls
Ronan
“resembling a little seal”
99% boys · 1% girls